All That I Need
by Karisan-karisan
Summary: Life has many twists and turns. She thought she had found what she needed and she was wrong both times. Now she doesn't believe in happy endings, but maybe someone can change her mind.
1. Broken

All That I Need

This is an Alternative Story focused on Miharu Hirano's life. She isn't a main character in the Tekken series, so I decided to write a bit more about her. Besides I promised Krappkarmin that I would write this story and here it is.

Main Pairings: Miharu/Steve; Ling/Jin; Julia/Hwoarang

_**Chapter 1 - Broken**_

"Heartbroken" was a word that Miharu Hirano had learned to hate. In her life she had been hurt two times, and she had decided to quit on love.

She couldn't say she wasn't a lucky girl because she was. Her family was working for one of the wealthiest Japanese families, the Mishima family.

Miharu was raised in the Mishima mansion where her mother and father were working. Heihachi Mishima had promised her parents that she would have a good education and a good job as well. She was one of the most famous students in the Mishima Polytechnical School, but that was before his arrival.

He was Jin Kazama, son of Kazuya Mishima and grandson of Heihachi Mishima.

Heihachi didn't know he had a grandson until Jin knocked at his door. Heihachi didn't even have to order a DNA test because Jin looked exactly like Kazuya.

After that, Heihachi had agreed to take care of Jin's education and suddenly, a very shy young boy became the most popular guy in school.

He and Miharu became good friends. She was two years younger than him, but Jin didn't mind. He was fifteen when he arrived and soon he realised that living with a rich grandfather could be very difficult. First he didn't trust his grandfather, second he didn't want to be popular, and finally he just wanted to have a normal life.

Miharu learned that Jin's parents were dead and that he had no more family. At first she was happy to have someone of her age around, because she was always alone.

But a year later, Miharu realised that she had fallen in love with Jin without even noticing it. She started blushing every time he looked at her, but she was afraid that it was only a school crush; after all every girl in the Mishima Polytechnical School had a crush on Jin. He was tall, mysterious and quiet. As for his physical appearance, girls used the word "divine" to describe him.

As for Jin, he was only living with Heihachi because he needed him to learn the Mishima Fighting Style. Besides his mother had told him to go to Heihachi before she died.

When Miharu was absolutely sure that her feelings for Jin were real, something happened. Heihachi went to China and he brought a young Chinese girl with him. She was the best student of Wang Jinrei and Heihachi wanted her to be his best bodyguard. She was talented and very pretty too. Jin noticed that as soon as she arrived. Miharu became Ling Xiaoyu's best friend but soon she realised that Ling had won Jin's heart. She felt extremely sad and disappointed. Ling was her best friend and she didn't want to ruin their friendship, but it was hard to see that Jin had chosen Ling instead of her.

That year, Jin and Ling entered the Iron Fist and Miharu knew that everything was about to change, because sooner or later Jin would have to tell Ling that he was in love with her.

During the tournament, Ling realised that she was in love with Jin too, but none of them recognise their true feelings. To Ling's despair, Jin vanished after the competition and both Miharu and Ling were heartbroken, though Ling could always hope for his return. As for Miharu, she knew that if Jin returned, it would be for Ling, so she had lost anyway.

One more year past, and for the two friends, it was the worst year ever. Ling was feeling down and Miharu had never told her that she had loved Jin too. A month before the Fourth Iron Fist, Ling received a message from a unanimous person, alerting her for the dangers that the tournament would held. Ling was sure that it had been Jin sending the e-mail, so she had convinced Miharu and they had both entered the tournament.

Miharu's heart wasn't healed yet and she was vulnerable. Jin was there and he was happy to see Ling again. They were both so happy that they spent their first night together the night before the tournament started.

Miharu knew now that Jin would never be with her, and she tried her best to forget him. In the end she succeeded, only to be hurt again.

This time he was Korean. A red hair Korean who happened to be Jin's rival. He was in the tournament only to kick Jin's ass, and he was being hunted down by the Korean Army.

Miharu fell in love with his bad boy attitude. He was a bit like Jin, but more dynamic. Tall, handsome and tenacious, Hwoarang was the perfect man for many innocent girls. But he was also a difficult case. He was stubborn and he wasn't an honest guy like Jin. Back in his country he was known as a thug leader and the police was always trying to get him arrested.

Miharu and Hwoarang became friends because he needed her to supply him some information about Jin.

But Hwoarang wasn't the only person who was interested in Jin Kazama. Julia Chang had travelled all the way from Arizona to Japan to find the truth about the Mishima family. Her adopted mother had been kidnapped by Heihachi and with the help of Jin Kazama Julia had managed to save her during the last tournament. Now she was back to help Jin and Ling to get rid of Heihachi.

Since Jin and Ling were now together, Julia started to join Miharu and Hwoarang. At first, things were alright, but soon Julia and Hwoarang started arguing. It was quite annoying to be with those two, but it was impossible for them to have a decent conversation without an argument. In the meanwhile, Miharu was hoping to have a quiet moment alone with Hwoarang to tell him that she liked him more than just a friend. She wanted to tell him that thanks to him, she had been able to forget about Jin.

And then, one day, out of the blue Hwoarang asked her if she believed in love at first sight. Miharu said yes, she couldn't believe that Hwoarang was actually in love with her too. Finally she was going to be happy. Suddenly her heart was filled up with joy. In that night Miharu watched Hwoarang downstairs. She was at the window in her bedroom and Hwoarang was watching her and calling her to meet him in the park. Miharu felt like flying, it was like a dream that came true.

But for the second time, she was heartbroken. When she got downstairs, Hwoarang wasn't alone anymore, he was kissing Julia. Miharu realised that Julia's bedroom was right next to hers, and that Hwoarang had been calling Julia and not her.

Fortunately for her, Hwoarang and Julia didn't see her and Miharu went to her room, crying.

The next day, Julia told Miharu that Hwoarang had kissed her and that she was starting to like him too. Miharu felt her hopes flying away again and she decided to quit. She couldn't stand it anymore.

In that same day, she abandoned the tournament to return to Tokyo. She was so busy and determined that she didn't even notice a young man, around her age who was on the hotel's reception when she left. He was tall and blonde, he wasn't Japanese, but he sure was attractive enough to have his own fan club. Besides, he was famous all around the world. His name was Steve Fox.

If Miharu had noticed him, she would know that he would be her future boss, because her life was about to change, considerably.

A few weeks later, Miharu was back in Tokyo and the tournament had just ended. She had received a phone call from Ling saying that she was going to Australia with Jin. As for Hwoarang, he had been captured to the Military and he was back in South Korea; Julia was going with him, though she wasn't arrested. She would go to Master Baek and ask him to help Hwoarang.

Miharu felt numb. She was back at stage one, alone and heartbroken. First Jin and now Hwoarang, she wasn't definitely a lucky person.

In order to forget about her suffering, Miharu had spoken to Heihachi and asked him to give her a job away from Tokyo.

After a week, Heihachi had decided to send Miharu away, but the trip wasn't what Miharu had in mind.

-'What?'-Miharu asked surprised.-'United Kingdom?'

-'You said you wanted to go to place away from here!'-Heihachi said.

-'Yeah, but I thought you were going to send me to Hokkaido or Kyushu.'

-'What's wrong with the UK? Don't you like to travel?'

-'Of course I do!'

-'Good…I'm just waiting for the confirmation…and then you can go!'

-'I hope I'm doing the right thing…'-Miharu whispered on her way home.

United Kingdom

Steve Fox was in his huge office with his assistant, Stan Morris. They were both watching some CV's to choose the new assistant, since Stan was going to assume the Vice-Director post in the Fox and Associates Enterprises (FAE).

Steve's father was very sick and Steve had become the Director of FAE last year, but he was also a very popular Boxing fighter. Actually he was the Middle Weight Champion in Europe.

-'Jena Miles…twenty-one…I like this one!'-Steve said watching Jena's picture.

-'Steve! We're here to decide the best candidate for the job…not the most beautiful one…'

-'She's beautiful and she's smart…what's the problem?'

-'She's a nurse!'

-'Nurse? I don't need a nurse…or maybe I do…'

-'No, you don't!'

-'Why is her CV here?'

-'Because Sam brought it…I told you she has a chicken brain…'

-'Sam's ok…she's just adapting herself…'

-'She's here because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!'

-'Sam's Mackingley's daughter, what could I do?'

-'Never mind…I have two candidates. Allie Grant …'

-'Allie? Let me see her…'-Steve asked. He studied Allie's picture carefully and then he gave it back to Stan.-'No! She's older than me!'

-'Come on…she would be a great assistant.'

-'I want someone of my age.'

-'What for?'

-'Because I don't like older women!'

-'She won't be your girlfriend!'

-'She might be.'

-'Steve! Stop acting like an idiot! I'm not going to let you ruin this company! Your father and I worked very hard…'

-'I'm not ruining anything.'

-'You will if you keep on dating all your assistants!'

-'Sam was different! She…'

-'And Lori?'

-'Lori was different too. She's a good girl.'

-'The only thing she can do is organise the archives.'

-'It could be worse.'

-'I don't think so.'

-'Fine. Let me keep Sam and Lori and I'll let you choose the new girl, ok?'

Stan sighed and he sat down again. He watched two more CV's and then he smiled.

-'I'll call this one.'

-'What's her name?'-Steve asked with curiosity.

-'Miharu Hirano.'

-'What? She's what? Chinese?'

-'No, Japanese…and her CV is excellent; she's perfect.'

Steve took Miharu's CV from Stan's hands and read it.

-'She's not ugly, but she doesn't have…um…you know…'

-'She doesn't have a body like Lori and Sam…'-Stan completed.

-'Yeah…'

-'But fortunately for us, she won't have a small brain like those two either!'

-'Fine! Call her! I'm going for a coffee.'


	2. This is Real

All That I Need

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

**_Chapter 2 - This is Real_**

Steve Fox was twenty one years old and he was the only son of Sarah and Michael Fox. Though he was adopted, Michael had turned Steve into his heir and due to his sudden illness Steve was now in charge of the FAE. Scott Mackingley and Julie Shepard were his associates, but Michael was the one with the biggest share of the company actions and therefore, Steve was now the Director.

The problem was that Steve was young, immature and a playboy. Michael knew about that and so he had asked his personal assistant, Stanley Morris to help Steve and be always at his side. Stanley had done his best but Steve was a helpless case, he had even left the company (with no warning) to enter the Iron Fist.

During his absence the Vice-Director, Gina Wallace, was taken to the Hospital with a nervous breakdown. She was now recovering slowly at home; therefore, Stan would take her place, besides he was an honest man. But he still didn't trust in Steve. To Stan, Steve was a nice and honest young man, but he was still very immature, so he had asked for a new assistant to control the young man.

In the meanwhile Steve had called Lori and Sam to his office for a private talk.

Samantha Mackingley was his friend since childhood. She was the daughter of one the FAE associates, and she had just finished her degree in Sociology. She was blonde and had beautiful green eyes. Her hair was so shiny that Steve used to compare it with gold. As for Lori Adams, she was a special friend. Lori had red hair that she used to wear in a long braid and brown eyes. Both girls had dated Steve once, but their relationship with the young boxing fighter didn't last. For that motive Lori and Sam weren't friends at all; in fact they were always competing for Steve's affection. For Steve this was quite amusing, especially when both girls were yelling at each other insults.

-'Lori…Sam…I called you to tell you that…'-Steve began.

-'Oh my God…you're firing me?'-Lori asked.

-'No! Of course not!'-Steve reassured.-'Why would I do that?'

-'I don't know…where have you been? You left us without a warning…I was worried!'-Lori confessed.

-'I'm alright…I just needed a break and I decided to go on a journey…but it was only for a month. Now I'm back!'-Steve smiled and Lori looked at his beautiful blue eyes with hope. In that moment she was winning and Sam was about to explode. Actually Sam was turning green with jealousy.

-'Enough…you mischievous witch!'-Sam started.

-'Shut up! You're jealous!'-Lori replied with a grin.

-Girls! Please! Just hear me out, ok?'-Steve interrupted them.-'You know that you're my favourite employees in this company…'

Both girls nodded but they were still a bit confused.

-'Well…as you know, Stan will assume the Vice-Director place and I need a new assistant…Stan hired me a new assistant to be more precise!'-Steve continued.

-'Why didn't you choose me?'-Sam asked feeling disappointed.

-'Stan wanted to be him choosing…he's my father's best friend, so I couldn't do anything!'

-'So you're going to have a new assistant…who's he? Someone we know?'-Lori asked.

-'Actually no. And it's not a _he_ it's a _she_…'-Steve waited for their reaction.

-'No way!'-Sam said immediately.-'It's enough to have this bitch around you all day!'-she continued with her face all red from screaming.

-'As if!'-Lori replied.-'I'm not the bitch here! You are!'

Steve smiled watching the two girls arguing. It was really amusing to watch two beautiful girls fighting over him.

-'Lori…Sam…calm down!'-he ordered and pointed to the chairs to make them sit down again.

-'Who is she?'-Lori demanded to know.

-'Her name is Miharu Hirano and she's Japanese…'-Steve explained.

-'Japanese?'-Sam asked surprised.-'How will you understand her?'

-'She knows how to speak English.'-Steve said shaking his head. Sometimes Sam was a bit stupid, and Steve was still wondering how the hell she had passed her university exams.

-'When does she arrive?'-Lori asked.

-'Today. She must be in the airplane at this very moment.'

-'Great!'-Sam said sarcastically.-'Is she pretty?'

-'Nah!'-Steve said to avoid more troubles with the girls.

-'Are you sure?'-Sam insisted.

-'Yep!'

-'I hope she's ugly like an opal!'-Sam said leaving the room.

-'Opal?'-Steve asked confused.

-'It's Ogre, you idiot!'-Lori said.

-'Yeah…right…Ogre!'-Sam repeated.-'I always confused an opal with an ogre…'

-'Opal is a stone!'-Lori explained.

-'Is it?'-Sam asked stupidly.-'Opal is a stone?'-she asked again to Steve.

Steve nodded and laughed. Sometimes she was really thick.

-'What's an ogre then?'-she asked Lori when they were outside the door.

Lori sighed and closed the door behind her. Outside, Steve could hear her explaining Sam what an Ogre was.

He didn't want to admit it but he was anxious to meet his new assistant, especially because she was kind of pretty. Steve was a guy with simple tastes. Though he was rich and powerful he still enjoyed his University friends' company and he liked to go the usual bars and pubs in London. As for girls he liked all kind of girls except the sluttish ones. He had many girlfriends before but his longest relationship with a girl had lasted only six months. Her name was Christina Monteiro, Christie for friends and she was from Brazil. They had met during Steve's holidays in Rio de Janeiro and Steve had succumbed to her charms. That was two years ago. After six months, Steve had to return to the U.K. and he had realised that Christie was using him to make jealous to another man, her capoeira's master Eddie Gordo. In the end, Christie had confessed that at first she was using him to provoke Eddie, but in the end she had really liked him. Steve didn't believe in her and they had broken up. In the last tournament, last month, Steve had seen Christie again but they barely spoke two words with each other.

Looking back, Steve realised that he had never been in love with a girl. He didn't use them like objects either, he just had some fun with some girls and that was all.

He was so wrapped in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Stan had entered his office.

-'STEVE!'-Stan yelled.

Steve almost fell off his chair.

-'Are we on war or something?'-Steve asked.

-'No…but you were dreaming…'

-'I was thinking…Stanley…I don't dream!'

-'Fine. I want to ask you a favour.'

-'What?'

-'Hirano is arriving any moment and our driver called saying that he can't go to pick her up at the airport.'

-'Why not?'

-'There was an accident on the freeway…you have to go there and pick her up.'

-'Me? Why?'

-'Because you have a car!'

-'So do you!'

-'Mine is in the mechanics…'

-'What time is it?'

-'3 p.m…her flight arrives in twenty minutes. Be a good boy and go.'

Steve mumbled some curses, took his car keys and left in a bad humour.

In the meantime, Miharu was watching the blue sky as she was landing in a very different place from the one she was used to live.

She had lived all her life in Japan and now, all of the sudden she was landing in this far away land where she didn't know anything or anyone. Last week she had been reading tourist guides from the U.K. but that wasn't much of a help. Miharu wasn't afraid but she was a bit nervous.

At least in there she would be distant from Hwoarang, Julia, Jin and Ling. At least in Europe she wouldn't have to remember their happy faces because she would be busy, working.

The airplane reached the ground and Miharu got up from her seat. She picked up her luggage and tried to find her way out of the airport.

Steve was outside near his car when he finally spotted her. She looked confused and lost, but she wasn't ugly at all. Actually, Steve felt stupid for having said that. She was beautiful; not a supermodel and not as classy as Sam or Lori but still beautiful.

He approached her and took her luggage.

-'I'm from the Fox and Associates Enterprises, welcome to the land of the Beatles!'-Steve said with a smile.

Miharu was surprised to see such a young and attractive man next to her.

-'You are Miharu Hirano, aren't you?'-Steve asked when she remained in silence.

-'Yes, I am…'

-'Good. Then lets get going. My car is over there.'-Steve pointed and took her luggage over to the car.

-'Where are we going?'-Miharu asked following Steve.

-'To your place.'

-'My place?'

-'Well…if you're going to work for the FAE you need to have a place to live. But you can always come to my place.'-Steve said joking.

Miharu looked at him with a sarcastic look. She had thought that he was a decent guy, but it was obvious that he was just a jerk trying to get her to bed.

-'Why would I go with a loser like you?'-Miharu asked.

-'Loser?'

-'Yeah, loser. Only a loser says things like that to a girl he hardly knows.'

-'Can't you recognise a joke?'

-'A joke?'

-'Yeah…I was joking.'

-'In Japan we don't joke with things like that and a young man doesn't invite a girl to his place in their first encounter.'

-'We're not in Japan…and this is not our first encounter.'-Steve said laughing.

Miharu looked at him surprised. She had never seen him before, so what the hell was he talking about?

-'Get in the car Miss Hirano.'-Steve said opening the door for her.

Miharu obeyed and waited until he was inside the car too.

-'What did you mean by that?'-she asked.

-'I'm not going to tell…but I'm sure I saw you before!'

Steve left the airport and Miharu felt suddenly frightened to be with that enigmatic guy, who was confusing her mind. But for now she knew she had to hang on because she didn't want to go back to Japan. She was starting something new and she wanted to forget her past; for that she needed to stay.

-'I can't believe this is real.'-Miharu whispered watching an old Palace and a beautiful garden in the centre of London.


	3. First Day

All That I Need

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 3 – First Day_**

In that neighbourhood all the houses looked the same. Steve stopped the car in front of the number 13.

Miharu looked at her new home. It seemed alright. It wasn't too big or too small. It was perfect for her.

-'Don't worry, FAE paid for it…'-Steve called her from the door. He took a key out of his pocket and opened the door.-'Come on in!'

Miharu did was she was told.

Steve showed her the house and then they entered a room where Miharu saw a desk with a computer and a fax machine.

-'Do you know how to drive?'-Steve asked.

-'Yes…but I don't know London at all!'

Steve turned the computer on and showed her some car pictures.

-'Pick one for you!'

-'What?'

-'All the FAE have a car. If you want to get to your work on time you need to have a car…'

-'I like the Nissan…'

-'Good choice…the Japanese always have good engines.'-Steve said looking at Miharu's legs when she was watching the painting on the all. Miharu noticed that and blushed. Then she felt angry with him.

-'You're very rude!'-she declared with her hands on her hips.-'Get out of my house!'

-'Hey…easy…'

-'Easy? You were watching my legs like a maniac rapist!'

-'I'm not like that!'

-'Really? And how can I know that? I don't even know if you work for FAE.'

-'I do…besides I was just watching…you should feel honoured, because it means that you're attractive. If you were ugly I wouldn't stare at you!'

-'You have some nerves! OUT!'-Miharu yelled.

-'But I…'

-'OUT!'

Steve got out immediately and watched as she closed the door right in his face.

-'If I'll see you again, I'll kill you!'-she yelled from inside the house.

-'You will…don't worry.'-Steve whispered with a grin on his face.

Maybe Stan had made the right choice in hiring Miharu Hirano. She didn't seem boring at all; actually she was quite a challenge. Steve was happy for that. He was popular with the girls, all he had to do was snap his fingers and a group of girls would appear in a second. But with Miharu it was different, she was a difficult one.

Early in the morning Miharu received a phone call; she looked outside the window and saw a brand new Nissan parked at her door.

-'Wow…'-she said amazed.-'I can't believe it!'

Miharu walked out of the door to see her new car with her own eyes. Never in her life had she driven a brand new car.

When she got to the FAE headquarters Miharu was very well received by Stan who was expecting her in his new office.

-'You must be Miss Hirano.'-he said shaking her hand.

-'Yes sir…You can call me Miharu.'

-'Your English is perfect…I like it.'

-'Thank you.'

-'I'm Stanley Morris; I was Steve Fox's assistant until I was promoted. I liked your profile so I hired you to be his assistant.'

-'Is Mr. Fox in his office?'

-'No, not yet. He must be on his way here…he's always a bit late.'

-'Oh…so what can I do?'

-'You may start to go to his office and prepare his agenda. I think that Steve doesn't know what meetings he needs to attend today. You'll be always with him to make sure he doesn't forget about his responsibilities.'

-'Yes, Mr. Morris. I'll make sure Mr. Fox will be in all his meetings.'

Miharu left to Steve's office thinking that he was probably an old man who was starting to forget about things due to his advanced age. In Japan was normal that all the great companies' directors were old men, leaders of huge family businesses, just like Heihachi Mishima.

When she was quietly organising the documents on Steve's desk, two young women walked in. They were a bit shocked when they found Miharu there.

Sam and Lori looked at each other and then approached Miharu.

-'You're the new girl?'-Sam asked.

-'Yes, I'm Miharu Hirano, nice to meet you!'-Miharu greeted with a smile.

-'She's not ugly like an opal!'-Sam blurted.

-'Ogre!'-yelled Lori, feeling furious with Steve. He had told them that Miharu was ugly and now, a very attractive young woman was there in front of her. Lori examined Miharu until the last detail, noticing Miharu's straight brown hair, her pink lips and her brown eyes.

-'I'm sorry…'-Lori said in a nice voice.-'Sam is a bit inconvenient sometimes…I hope you have a good day here, ok?'

-'Thank you.'-Miharu said feeling a bit confused.

-'We'll be seeing each others a lot from now on, since you're working with Mr. Fox.'-Lori explained.-'But if I were you, I would be careful.'

Miharu looked at Lori with the feeling that she was overreacting, but since it was her first day she didn't say anything, besides she couldn't judge Lori or Sam because it was the first time she was meeting them. Maybe they were good friends and reliable persons to talk to.

-'Why are you saying that?'-Miharu finally asked.

-'Mr. Fox is a compulsive liar and he likes to joke with pretty girls like us…'

-'What?'-Miharu asked in disbelief. Was Lori trying to say that her new boss was a pervert old man?

-'Well…just be careful ok? And don't let yourself be fooled by his tricks.'

Sam nodded and followed Lori as she was leaving. Miharu was now alone in Steve's office. All her hopes in a decent and stimulating job had just vanished. She knew martial arts and she wasn't afraid of an old man even knowing that he was a pervert one, but it wasn't a good thing to work everyday with such a person around her. She wasn't very keen to work for someone like that; and she had travelled such a long way for that!

-'Great.'-Miharu whispered.-'Just great.'

She looked to the telephone on the desk and fought against the impulse to phone Heihachi and tell him that she wanted to return to Japan, but then suddenly, Miharu got away from the phone as soon as in her mind pictures of Jin and Hwoarang began to appear.

She couldn't go back. She would not have the courage to face Hwoarang, especially when she knew that he was with Julia. As for Jin, even if her heart was still recovering from the disappointment of losing Hwoarang to Julia Chang, Miharu was still afraid of her confused feelings for Jin. He had been her first love, her first crush.

She couldn't forget that Jin was her best friend's boyfriend.

Ling had sent her an e-mail last night saying how happy she was with Jin and how close they were. Ling was living and experimenting something that Miharu had never tasted, love.

Sadly Miharu had been in love with two guys who had neglected her and that was still hurting. That was why she didn't want to go back to her country. It was too painful and she had promised herself that she would survive to the pain. For that she needed to stay away from the two men who had broken her heart.

In the meantime, Steve had just arrived, but he was in Stan's office, drinking some coffee.

-'You said you wouldn't be late again this month!'-Stan said annoyed. It was the fourth time that Steve was arriving late.

-'Sorry.'

-'You always say sorry…please don't make me talk to your father!'

-'It won't happen again, I promise!'

-'You have one last chance. Now go to your office and see what meeting you have to go to.'

-'I have meetings today?'-Steve asked feeling really bored.

-'You're our Director! Of course you have meetings!'-Stan yelled.

-'Alright, alright…I'm going…'

-'And be nice to her.'

-'Her?'-Steve asked confused.

Stan shook his head disappointed.

-'Your new assistant.'

-'OH! Yeah…I remember, the Japanese girl. Is she here already?'-Steve asked enthusiastically.

-'Yes.'

-'Great!'-Steve shut the door quickly and entered his office.

Miharu was organising his desk when she watched the door opening. She sighed and prepared herself to meet her new boss.

-'Oh it's you…'-she said when she saw Steve.-'Mr. Fox is not here yet.'

-'Really?'

-'Are you seeing him anywhere?'

-'Wow…I like your sarcasm…'-Steve joked.

-'Just leave…I have to work…'

-'Right…'

-'Don't worry, I'll tell Mr. Fox that you came here…'

-'Yeah…you do that…'-Steve said amused.

-'What's your name?'

Steve looked at her and took a few steps in her direction.

-'I'm Steve Fox…nice to meet you Miharu Hirano…I'm sure this will be the start of a great friendship.'-he smiled.

Miharu was shocked and confused when she realised that the handsome blonde guy in front of her, who had picked her up at the airport was her boss. She couldn't believe it.

Now things were really complicated.


	4. Intimacy Definition

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 4 – Intimacy Definition_**

Miharu's heart was beating so fast that she could hear it. She had been rude to her boss and she didn't have any idea of what to do or how to apologise.

-'I'm so sorry Mr. Fox…I didn't know…'

-'I know.'

-'You can fire me immediately. I don't mind…'

-'Fire you?'

-'Yes, I was rude to you and I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday.'

-'Well…I'm not going to fire you. Actually I'm not even mad at you.'

-'You're not?'

-'No. I think this in going to be fun!'

Miharu looked at Steve surprised. She was relieved to know that he wasn't an old and perverted man, but what did he mean by "fun"?

-'So…Hirano…how many meetings do I have today?'

-'A…what? Oh the meetings…well, you have three Mr. Fox.'

-'Mister? Cut the Mister ok? I'm Steve!'

-'Yes, sir.'

-'Can I call you Miharu?'

-'I'm sorry sir, but the Japanese habits are different from yours. We do not call ourselves by the first name, except if we are intimate friends with that person.'

-'So…I have to be close to you in order to call you by your first name?'-Steve asked surprised.

-'Sort of…'

-'That's not cool…What if I kiss you?'

-'What?'-Miharu gave two steps back when Steve approached her. _Was he serious?_ She thought to herself. Maybe Lori and Sam were right and she should be careful about that guy, even if he was dead gorgeous.

-'Steve! Mr. Cunning is waiting for you!'-Stan almost shouted opening the door.-'What the hell are you doing?'

-'Being nice to my new assistant!'-Steve answered smiling.

-'Hurry up!'-Stan said.

-'We'll talk later, Miharu…wait for me.'

When Steve left the room, Miharu sat down on his chair and sighed.

_Why is this happening to me? Why? Do I deserve all this? I came here to have a quiet and decent life, to stop thinking about the two bastards who broke my heart and now I meet this weird yet handsome guy. Did I just admit he's handsome? Oh damn, I must think straight and focus on this stupid job! Actually, I should leave right now!_

Miharu was so focused in her thoughts that she didn't notice Steve getting inside the room again.

-'I forgot these papers…always the same thing…'-he said going away again.

Miharu watched him go and then the door opened again and Steve's head appeared.

-'Hey…I have a task for you…'

-'Yes?'-Miharu asked getting up immediately.

-'Just write down what you Japanese define as "intimate friends" and then leave it on my desk, ok?'

Steve closed the door and vanished. Miharu was shocked.

_Is he real? He's got to be joking! He's crazy, absolutely crazy!_

Steve's meeting lasted at least three hours, and after that it was lunch time. Luckily for Miharu, Stan came looking for her and invited her for lunch in a nearby restaurant. Steve was also there, but he was having lunch with two men, so Stan and Miharu sat down in a different table.

-'How was it?'-Stan asked.

-'My first morning at work?'

-'Yes.'

-'Well…I don't know.'-Miharu answered feeling embarrassed. She wished she could say the truth, but Stan was so kind to her.

-'Steve is really something you know…'

-'What do you mean?'

-'He's a nice kid. I watched him growing up and I feel almost like a father to him. But unlike his dad, I know that Steve doesn't want to be the leader of our company.'

-'Do you think so? He looks pretty confidant!'

-'That's because he doesn't want to let his father down. Steve's dad is very sick and Steve wants him to be proud.'

-'That's very noble.'

-'It might be…but it's also a mistake, because Steve isn't happy.'

-'Happy?'

-'Yes, you know…he's not doing this because he wants to, he's doing it because he has to.'

-'I see…'

-'I know that he probably scared you, with his nonsense things…but please…don't quit now. We need you.'

-'I don't understand…'

-'Steve never had an assistant like you…I mean, competent and intelligent. He needs someone like you by his side.'

Miharu's eyes met Steve, who was drinking in the next table and she smiled. Maybe he wasn't that bad. He was just a guy who was acting like a kid. Men typical, in her opinion. Since she was needed there, she wouldn't quit. She was going to stay for a while and try to understand Steve a bit better.

She didn't have anything to lose.

In the end of the day, Steve was sick of having meetings. He arrived to his office and banged his head on the desk.

-'You have these to sign…'-Miharu announced with some papers on her hands.

-'Damn…I hate this…'

-'You were quite happy during lunch.'

-'That's because I was having lunch…because the meetings were awful.'

-'Are there any more papers for me to sign?'

-'No, sir.'

-'Then I guess I'm going home.'

-'But it's only five in the afternoon. Isn't the boss always the last to leave?'

-'Nah…here in my company I'm the first one to leave.'

-'But that's not right.'

-'You're not in Japan. Remember that.'

-'How can I forget…'-Miharu complained.

-'If you didn't want to come, why are you here?'

-'Long story…and I don't want to discuss it.'

-'Why not? Because we're not close friends?'

-'No…because you're my boss and you have nothing to do with my personal life.'

-'I can see you're a though one.'

-'Maybe I am.'

-'You know what? From now on you're going with me to the meetings and businesses trips!'

-'What? Why?'

-'I'm the boss. Doesn't in Japan the employee always do what the boss says?'

-'Yes, but…'

-'You're coming with me and that's final! See you tomorrow…Miharu. Oh and by the way…what is your definition of intimacy?'

-'I…didn't think you were serious about that.'

-'Ok…then think about it and tell me tomorrow.'


	5. Unexpected

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 5 – Unexpected_**

Miharu was working in FAE (Fox Associated Enterprises) for two weeks now. She was getting used to the idea that her boss was always joking around and he didn't give a damn to his responsibilities. The problem was that Stan was hoping that she could change him, and she couldn't.

-'How did the meeting go?'-Stan asked that morning, a few minutes after Miharu arrived in the company. She was wearing a red skirt with a red coat and a brown shirt. The office was a mess since the last afternoon. Steve had a fight with Stan and he had kicked his desk so hard that all the papers and objects were on the floor.

-'Not very well. To tell the truth I think that the Sinus Company will cancel their businesses with us.'

-'Steve messed up again…'

-'It wasn't totally his fault…'-Miharu defended.

-'We both know that he did mess up. You don't need to defend him.'

Miharu lowered her eyes because she knew that Stan was right. The meeting had been a failure and it was Steve's entire fault. He had argued with Sinus's Director and he had insulted him as well. Miharu tried to apologise saying that Steve was under pressure and very stressed, but she wouldn't be surprised if Sinus cancelled all their businesses with them. Honestly, that was the best thing it could happen, because Mr. Ghruin could go to the police and press charges against Steve. Fortunately that wasn't the case.

-'You were supposed to prevent this from happening.'-Stan said.

-'I know…but Steve Fox isn't easy to deal with.'

-'I know, I just thought that if he worked with someone responsible he would come to his senses, I guess I was wrong.'

-'I'm sorry. Does that mean I'm fired?'

-'No, of course not. If he was alone in those meetings, it would be much worse. But you need to make him change.'

-'Well…that's hard since I'm just his assistant, and honestly, I don't think he would listen to me.'

-'Why don't you become his friend?'

-'Friend?'

-'Yes…Steve could use a friend. You know…someone he can trust…'

-'He has Lori and Sam…'

-'Lori and Sam?'-Stan asked laughing.-'Please…you have to be joking.'

-'They're always around Steve. They're friends, I can tell.'

-'No, they're not.'

-'But…'

-'Lori and Sam have now a love and hate relationship with Steve.'

-'Really? Why?'

-'Sam was Steve's first girlfriend…they were seventeen. It didn't last…after all we can't forget that Sam is a pea brain. There are animals smarter than her. As for Lori, she stole Steve from Sam, but they split up a few months after she was admitted in this company.'

-'I don't understand…'

-'And what makes you think that I do? Steve's relationships are always short. He never had a long term relationship. Maybe that's why he acts like this.'

-'Anyway…I don't think that's the best solution. I mean if Lori and Sam couldn't change him, what can I do?'

Steve arrived in that moment and he watched Miharu who was picking up the papers on the floor. He felt sorry for his bad temper.

-'You didn't have to do that…we would call a cleaning team.'-Steve said.

-'You're late!'-Stan started.

-'Stan…don't start! It's early and I had a rough night. I'm not in the mood.'

-'Mr. Fox, you have a call.'-Miharu announced giving the telephone to Steve.

Stan put his hand on Miharu's arm, to encourage her and then he left. Steve spoke on the phone for a long time until he hung up.

-'Were we sued by Sinus Company?'-Steve asked.

Miharu didn't know if he was worried or just feeling guilty.

-'No…you don't need to feel guilty.'

-'I'm not…I was just wondering if I had a criminal record because I'm going to leave the country for a week. I'm glad I can still travel without the Scotland Yard on my tail. '

-'Are you going on holidays?'

-'No…it's a business trip…and you're coming too.'-Steve smiled.

Miharu was confused. What the hell was going on? First he had ruined a very good business with an international company because he didn't like to go to meetings and to be a business man, and now he was inviting her to go on a business trip.

-'A business trip? Are you sure?'

-'Yep…Every year there's a summit in France…with all the Directors from British and French companies. I missed the last one because I was away, but this year it will be nice to go.'

-'And what do we do in the summit?'

-'Well, first we stay in a huge and fabulous hotel. Then we attend to the dinners and during the day we can do what we want!'

-'That's holidays…'

-'No…In your holidays you have to pay for everything yourself. Our trip is paid by the British and French Business Corporation.'

-'So, no meetings?'

-'Nope, unless we want to firm some bonds with new partners and stuff. This is a good opportunity to meet new Directors, new companies and new alliances.'

-'You sure know a lot about this…I can't understand why you're not satisfied with your life. I would love to be Director of FAE.'

-'Well…not all people want to be rich and powerful, Miharu. Money is important, but to do what you love the most is even more.'

-'It's Hirano, Mr. Fox…if we're going on this trip you need to start calling me by my name.'

-'You're name is Miharu.'

-'Hirano Miharu…'

-'What does that matter?'

-'It matters to me! I'm not your servant and I'm not your friend. I'm your assistant.'

-'Fine…Then I guess we'll have to change that.'

Miharu ignored that last comment, but she felt embarrassed when she heard those words. Until then Steve hadn't done anything disrespectful to her, but she felt something weird when she was alone with him. Now with this trip scheduled, she was feeling even worse. She was going to be alone with him for a whole week in France. Maybe she should decline the offer and stay in London.

When Miharu was going to say that she wouldn't go with him, Lori walked in almost crying. Her eyes were all red and she looked at Steve like a sad and lost puppy. Miharu felt sorry for her.

-'You're going away?'-Lori inquired.

-'It's just a week Lori…'

-'But you're going with her!'-Lori pointed to Miharu.

-'She's my assistant…I need her to assist me.'

-'That's a lie. You never needed her in the first place! That idiot Stan made you hire her!'

-'Lori, don't start.'

-'But it's true. You could've picked me…or even that brainless Barbie named Sam…'

-'Look, Stan is…'

-'I know…one of the oldest members of FAE and your father's best friend. I know all about that.'

-'Then you have to understand.'

-'Why can't you take me to France?'

-'Because you're not my assistant. This is a business trip, it's not a holiday!'

-'You said the same when we went together to Cuba, remember?'

-'That was different.'

-'You said it would be a business trip and we had loads of fun…you said the same to Sam when she started working here and she told me you two went on holidays in Costa Rica…why should I believe you now?'

-'Because I'm telling the truth.'

-'I know you better than that. You and her are going to…'

-'Miss Adams…'-Miharu interfered.-'You don't need to worry about me…I'm only going with Mr. Fox because I work in this company and we'll try to firm some alliances with other companies. Besides, I have no interest in Mr. Fox and I'm sure he's not interested in someone like me.'

Steve and Lori were shocked with those words, but so was Miharu. Did she just say that she was going with Steve to France? That wasn't supposed to happen. A minute ago she was going to tell him to go alone.

_What am I going to do now? I'll have to go…and that's not good. But if I'm not interested in him, why the hell do I feel so nervous? I should be calm, but my heart is racing. I'm sure that I don't like him, because I still think about Hwoarang…and sometimes I think about Jin and how they're living with Julia and Ling…happily ever after. I can't understand why the hell I said that I was going with this idiot. The moment I saw Miss Adams I knew she was jealous and I could've told her to go with him instead of me. But I didn't. Does that mean that I was jealous thinking that she could travel alone with Steve? No, I don't think so, right? It can't be that! Why am I so insecure? Why do I feel weird whenever he's around? Damn it…I hate it. I shouldn't have come! _

Miharu was soabsorbed in her thoughts that only Lori's voice snapped her off it.

-'I guess I should go now…'-Lori said, cleaning away her tears and slamming the door behind her.

Miharu bent down and continued to gather the papers and documents on the floor.

Steve was still thinking about her words. Never in his life had a woman told him in his face that she wasn't interested in him. That was sort of an insult. Was she speaking the truth? To check if Miharu was lying, Steve started helping her to pick up the documents. Soon, they were face to face. They were so close that Steve could smell her perfume.

-'You should wear skirts more often…'-Steve said with a grin. His intention was to annoy her and he succeeded.

-'What…?'-Miharu asked blushing.

-'Make sure you wear one like that in France…I'm sure I won't give a damn to the landscape…'

Miharu got up immediately. Her face was burning red and she tried to pull the skirt down a bit to cover her legs. The skirt wasn't that short, but now she was wishing she had never dressed that.

-'It was just a compliment. Don't take it so seriously…'-Steve said laughing.

Miharu left the office without a warning.

-'What the hell did you do to her?'-Stan asked coming in.

-'Nothing…I just realised that she was lying…our trip is going to be great! Absolutely great!'


	6. To Paris

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 6 – To Paris_**

Steve and Miharu were finally in the airplane to Paris. Their departure had been quite complicated. Sam and Lori had tried to prevent them from leaving, but in the end Steve managed to fool the two girls and he and Miharu were finally on board.

Steve sat down next to Miharu and faced her. She didn't seem too happy about the trip.

-'How are you feeling?'-he asked.

-'What?'

-'Are you ok? You look…nervous…are you afraid to fly?'

-'No. I just…this trip wasn't in my plans, that's all.'

-'Hey…the trip is paid and you only have to make me company at dinners…during the day you can go to visit Paris or other cities. Have you ever been in France before?'

-'No. Actually this is my second trip. I had never left Japan before.'

-'To travel is cool. It gives you the opportunity to meet all kind of people.'

-'When I came to London, I wasn't interested to meet people…I was interested to leave people behind.'

-'What happened?'

-'It's nothing…'

-'Fine…anyway…I apologise for Lori and Sam. They just overreacted…'

-'Yeah, I can see that. Why the hell didn't you invite one of them?'

-'Hey, if you didn't want to come, you should've told me before.'

-'Look…you need to understand one thing…if I'm going to Paris with you it's because I'm your assistant and nothing else!'

-'What do you mean by that?'

-'You know very well what I mean. Don't confuse me with Lori and Sam, because I don't want any troubles with them. I'm here because you're my boss and because I have a duty towards the FAE. Otherwise I would be in London…'

-'I don't understand…what kind of troubles are you referring to?'

-'Do I need to draw a picture? It's obvious that Lori still likes you and I don't want troubles.'

-'Lori and I have nothing to do with each other.'

-'But you dated her.'

-'A long time ago…nothing serious.'

-'She thinks differently!'

-'Are you jealous?'

-'Of course not…but you shouldn't play with other peoples' hearts.'

-'I'm not playing. Lori knows that everything that happened between us is over. The same applies to Sam. Do you think that I'm that kind of guy?'

-'What kind?'

-'The kind of guy who uses girls and then throws them away like an object...'

-'I didn't say that…but are you?'

Steve smiled and Miharu was confused. How could he be smiling after being accused of being a jerk?

-'I guess that for someone who is just here for businesses, you're very interested in my private life, aren't you?'

Miharu blushed but she managed not to show it. Steve was a very wise guy and if she didn't change the subject soon, she would be in deep troubles.

-'I'm not interested in your life. All I want is a quiet week, ok?'

-'Fine…we can arrange that. No problem, Miharu.'

-'I told you to call me Hirano.'

-'After your rude words, the least you can do is to allow me to call you by your first name, don't you think?'

-'I was rude? When?'

-'Do you really want me to count the times you were rude to me since you arrived in London? Because it might take a while!'

Miharu blushed again, uncertain of what to say.

_This is not going so well and we're still in the airplane. I don't want to imagine when we arrive to the hotel. He's so damn irritating! It looks like he can see right through me, and I can't let that happen. I can't allow my heart to have such feelings for anyone else ever again or I'll be hurt._

-'Fine. You can call me Miharu.'-she said feeling defeated. It wouldn't do any good to be always warning him to call her by her surname knowing that he would never do it.

-'That means we're friends now…right?'

-'No. It means that I'm sick and tired of warning you…I quit.'

-'Great.'

It was almost lunch time when they arrived in Paris, where a taxi was waiting for them. A few minutes later Miharu was on front of a huge hotel: the Boulevard Hotel. She heard Steve speaking to the reception man in French and after that a man took her luggage to the elevator. Steve called her and they both followed to the elevator.

-'There's a problem…'-Steve said with a serious face.

-'What?'

-'The Corporation thought I was coming alone and they didn't book a room for you.'

-'WHAT?'-Miharu almost shouted.

-'The problem is that they are full, so you'll have to stay in my room.'

-'No way! I'm single and this is not appropriate.'

-'Hey…you can relax. I know how to behave.'

-'The hell you do! I want a separate room or I'm leaving in the next flight.'

-'But I said in the reception that you wouldn't mind to stay with me. The bed is extra-large but if you want I can sleep in the couch…we're staying in a special suite.'

-'No! I don't care what you say. It's not proper for a girl like me to be in the same room as you. I can't even imagine what my parents would say!'

-'I promise I won't watch you in the bathroom and I'll respect your privacy.'

-'I said NO!'

The elevator stopped suddenly and the door opened. Miharu was red with anger and Steve was watching her amused. She was really angry with that situation.

-'Easy…I'm sure you'll get used to it. By the way, just don't wear those sexy night gowns and I promise I'll control myself, deal?'-Steve laughed leaving the elevator after the man carrying the luggage.

Miharu clenched her fists, wandering if she should use martial arts against her boss. It was really tempting. How could he be telling jokes in a situation like that? Could it be possible that he had plotted all that? But why? To annoy her or just to have a try? Unable to stay there looking at him, Miharu pushed a button in the elevator to return downstairs and leave. She was not going to stay there with Steve, especially not in the same room. It was bad enough to be with him in the same hotel and have to go with him to the dinners. She couldn't stay with him because she was afraid that her healing heart would betray her. She would not fall in love again, especially with Steve Fox, someone she hardly knew and her boss.

In the meanwhile, Steve was in the other elevator. He had realised that he had gone too far and he wanted to apologise. After all, he was only joking. It was kind of fun to annoy her like that.

-'Miharu, wait!'-he yelled when the elevator stopped and he watched her carrying her bag towards the hotel front door.-'Miharu…I was only joking!'

-'Shut up! I had enough!'-Miharu said turning back and pushing him against the wall.

Everyone was watching the odd scene, though the majority of them couldn't understand a word.

-'I told you that a Japanese woman likes to be honoured and respected. I also told you to call me by my surname because I'm your employee and not your whore. I told you more than once that I do not want any troubles with your damn ex-girlfriends and that all I wish is to be quiet and left alone! What the hell did you miss?'

Steve was completely astonished. That was a part of Miharu that he didn't know yet. She was scaring but it was also good to know that she had all that strength.

-'Calm down…'-he said.

-'I'm not staying with you in that room and that's final! You've been joking around ever since I arrived and I'm not a toy that you can use! I'm sorry to foil your plan…now, if you excuse me I have a flight to catch.'

-'Miharu…wait…I was joking…they have a room for you.'

Steve threw her a key that Miharu caught. Now it was her time to be surprised. He had been testing her all that time. What an asshole.

-'Sorry…I won't do it again. And I didn't plan anything…it was just a joke.'-Steve apologised picking up her bag and pulling her arm for her to follow him.

-'If you do that again…I'll kill you!'

-'Fine…but you have quite a strong spirit. You shouldn't hide it…'

-'Baka…'

-'What did you call me?'

-'Nothing.'

-'I have the right to know.'

-'No you don't.'

When they arrived to the fifth floor, Steve put Miharu's bag right next to her bedroom door. His room was in front of hers.

-'Here…that's your room.'

Miharu opened the door and grabbed her things. She slammed the door right his face.

Steve smiled and shrugged. He tried to forget about that stupid prank but it was stronger than him, so he knocked at her door.

-'What now?'-Miharu asked when she opened the door.

-'It's just to tell you that if I wanted you to sleep in my bedroom…you wouldn't be able to escape! I would make sure of that!'

Miharu blinked twice and watched him go to his room.

-'I'll see you at dinner…princess.'-Steve said waving.


	7. Old Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: When I started this story I was also writing _Destiny Revealed_, and I thought I could write two stories at the same time…well I guess I was wrong. Obviously I couldn't, so now that _Destiny Revealed_ is over, I'll continue _All That I Need_.

I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 7 – Old Friends_**

Miharu was ready to leave her room when she heard a knock on her door. She wasn't surprised to see Steve in an elegant suit, but she felt a bit intimidated when he started to look at her intensively. She hadn't realised but she was in fact quite beautiful. After the shower, Miharu had opened the closet in her room and almost fainted. There were at least twenty dresses in it. Her first thought was that she was in the wrong room; maybe that was a terrible mistake and those clothes belonged to a wealthy woman. Frightened she didn't even touch the dresses, but then she got a call saying that the dinner would be served at seven p.m. so she realised that it wasn't a mistake.

It took more than an hour to choose the right dress, and Miharu felt a bit uncomfortable at first. It was a beautiful blue dress above her knees, without sleeves and she had also shoes matching the dress.

-'You look fantastic.'-Steve said.-'Now lets go…I have a lot to teach you.'

-'Don't worry; I know how to behave in a classy dinner…'

-'Oh, don't get me wrong…I'm not going to teach you how to eat or drink properly…I'm going to teach you how to act around these people.'

When they arrived in the saloon, searching for an empty table, Miharu realised that she was actually very nervous.

-'Well, it looks like we're going to have company.'-Steve announced. Miharu watched the tables with six chairs each. They would have to seat with four other people.

As soon as they sat down, Steve started to search the room for familiar faces, and he saw many.

-'Look…that man with the blue suit…that's Sir Langley…at least that's what he says.'-Steve started.

-'What do you mean?'-Miharu asked watching the middle-aged man who was speaking friendly with another man.

-'He wants us to believe that he's a Knight…when in fact he's not.'

-'Really?'

-'Yeah…Langley is an asshole who thinks that money can buy anything.'

-'Well, in that case, he's completely wrong.'

-'Oh…look…that's Mr. Grannier, I never thought he would come after what happened two years ago.'

-'What happened?'

-'Mr. Grannier came to this meeting, as usual, but he decided to bring company…'

-'So, and what's wrong with that?'

-'He brought a young lady…Giselle Desmet, ten years younger than him. Someone called his wife and when Clarisse got here…well, it was chaos. She screamed and insulted him, I was surprised to know that a fine woman such as Clarisse knew so many bad words…'

-'Quite a show, huh?'

-'Yeah, it was fun…well not for Giselle, of course. I don't know how, but Grannier managed to keep his marriage and Giselle was discharged. I can't understand how Clarisse forgave him.'

-'I guess she really loves him…You would be surprised if you knew for how long women can take their husband's betrayals.'

-'Were you married?'-Steve asked curious.

-'No…but I know that we can take a lot…'

-'You were betrayed once, weren't you?'

-'I don't want to talk about it.'

-'Why not? People say it helps.'

-'It's my life, my problem.'

-'Fine.'

-'Hey…Steve! Is that really you Stevie?'-asked a young man who had just arrived with a woman.

-'That's me, John…believe it or not.'-Steve answered shaking his hand.

-'Steve, it's good to see you again.'-the woman said. She had a beautiful red hair and green eyes. Miharu noticed that she was probably John's mother.-'How's your dad?'

-'He's ok…Thanks for asking Meg. What about Jim?'

-'Well, he's fine…he couldn't come, he's in Rome.'- Meg said sitting down.-'Who's the lovely young lady?'

Steve presented Miharu to Meg and John and he noticed how embarrassed she was, so he decided to start a conversation with John.

-'Did you think I was dead?'-Steve asked amused.

-'Well, now that you mention it…yes. You vanished, where the hell were you?'-John asked curious.

-'I left the company for a while, but now I'm back.'

-'Don't tell me it was because of Sam…'

-'No…we broke up.'-Steve said quickly.-'She's not my type.'

-'You really scared me when who said you were going out with her.'

-'Sam's a difficult case, you know…'

-'She's bloody daft…'

-'That too.'

Both guys started laughing while Meg was studying Miharu.

-'Dear…you don't need to worry.'-Meg started in a whisper.-'Sam and Steve didn't have a serious relationship.'

Miharu didn't know what to say so she simply nodded.

-'Steve just gave her a chance because she was constantly stalking him.'

-'How do you know that, Mrs…'

-'Andrews…Because I'm Steve's Godmother.'

-'Oh…right…'

-'I'm sure Steve didn't even love her. He won't cheat on you…'

-'Oh…it's not like that Mrs Andrews.'-Miharu said trying to keep her composure, but she was all red.

-'Then why are you blushing my dear?'

-'What's wrong?'-Steve asked interrupting his chat with John.

-'I'm his assistant…at the company. That's all.'-Miharu said.

-'Really?'-John asked surprised.-'Steve…my friend…you're getting rusty!'

Steve forced a smile and watched as Miharu was blushing again.

Mentally, Miharu was slapping herself. How could she blush in a time like that? In front of strangers. That dinner was a disaster. Now Steve was probably thinking that she liked him.

When the dinner was being served two men joined them at their table and it seemed that they both knew Steve very well.

Soon everyone was talking, except for Miharu, who kept quiet, wishing that no one would notice her for the rest of the night.

But it seemed that she wasn't lucky that night.

-'I heard that it's raining pretty hard in China…the floods are quite dangerous in there.'-one of the men said, trying to get Miharu's attention.

Steve had to touch her arm to make her listen.

-'Oh…I'm sorry, I was distracted…you were speaking to me?'

-'Yes…it's ok. I was saying that China is…'

-'I'm not Chinese. I'm Japanese.'-Miharu interrupted.

-'Sorry...'-the man said.

-'Oliver you really need to pay more attention…'-Steve laughed, remembering that a few weeks ago he had also commented with Stan something about Miharu being from China. Back then he didn't care if Miharu was from China, Japan, Malaysia or Korea; he just wanted a sexy assistant. Now, he had changed his mind. He had made the right choice hiring her.

That was probably the longest night of Miharu's life. She had to listen to weird conversations between Steve's friends, which involved mostly football players, football matches and cars.

She couldn't understand the fascination behind football and cars, but men were possibly the weirdest creatures on earth, so she just stood there listening to them. If she paid a bit more attention to them, she would've seen that Steve was the only one who didn't care about the conversation. He was merely listening to the others, but his eyes were fixed on her.

It was almost midnight when Miharu decided to return to her room. She was tired and bored. But before she could leave, John grabbed her hand and made her promise that they would meet in the next day. She didn't have a choice, though she didn't know what John's real intentions were. That she would only find out in the next morning.


	8. History Lesson

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 8 – History Lesson_**

It was early in the morning when Miharu woke up. She got dressed and when she was about to leave her room she found a piece of paper under the door. It was a note saying that she had to be present in a meeting at four o'clock in the afternoon.

While she was having breakfast, Miharu couldn't stop thinking about the clashes of civilisation she was witnessing. She couldn't understand the purpose of that trip to France. Steve said it was sort of a Summit, to gather all the business men, owners of the greatest companies from United Kingdom and France. But why were they there? What was the purpose of that? It seemed to her that it was merely a formality, something like an old tradition and people would go there just to have some fun and spy on everyone's life.

If that was the case, then things were clearly different in her home country, were people would never distract themselves from doing their jobs just to have a break. The holidays were spent with the family, but once back to work; it was a non-stop daily routine from home to work and vice-versa.

It was her second day in Paris and Miharu wasn't too sure about what to do. Last night wasn't exactly what she had pictured. Instead of businesses, everyone was anxious to know about news, gossips and rumours about each others. It seemed to her that the last thing those men were thinking of were businesses. Besides, Steve had told her weird stories about almost everyone. Most of those men were just idiots, searching some fun and cheating their wives while they were travelling.

If the meeting she was attending that same afternoon was going to be like the previous night, Miharu was sure she was going to leave in the next morning. No matter what Steve could say or do, she wasn't going to stay there to watch rich businessmen talking about their private lives and drinking whisky.

Minutes later, Miharu was surprised by John, who was also having breakfast.

-'Are you ready for your guiding tour?'-he asked.

-'What tour?'

-'You promised we would go out today, remember?'

-'Oh…that…but there's a meeting today.'

-'I know, I'll be there too, but we have plenty of time. Lets go, I'm going to get my car, ok?'

Miharu didn't have time to come up with another excuse, besides she had promised him.

-'I should've said no…'-she complained when John left. But he was nice. At least he was polite. He had green eyes and blondish hair. John wasn't as tall as Steve but he was handsome too.

Miharu waited for John and as soon as he arrived they left the hotel. It was a sunny day and it seemed that maybe she could enjoy that tour.

-'So, Steve told me you never came to Paris.'

-'Well, he's right.'

-'I'm going to show you Paris and I'm sure you're going to love it.'

-'It's quite different from Japan. That's a fact.'

-'Why are you working for the Fox Enterprises?'

-'I needed a challenge. That's all.'

-'You're far away from home.'

-'I know that.'

-'Do you like it? I mean to be Steve's secretary…'

-'I'm getting used to it.'

Suddenly Steve became the topic of Miharu and John's conversation. She learned that John and Steve were best friends since they were in primary school. They were very close, but for some reason, Steve had vanished for a whole month and no one knew were he had been, not even John.

-'We went to the same University…we became quite famous there. We were on the football team, the girls loved us.'

-'I can imagine…Steve still has a fan club back home.'

-'You're talking about Lori and Sam?'

-'Yes…'

-'Sam was our classmate in the University.'

-'She graduated?'

-'Well…sort of…I think her father paid for it. She has a crush on Steve since…since always. As for Lori, he met her at my engagement party. But even being his best friend didn't allow me to find were he was when he vanished.'

-'Maybe he was with Lori?

-'No, she was in London…I even thought he was dead…'

-'Well…probably he just needed a break.'

-'Yeah…maybe.'

-'So you're married, right?'

-'Not anymore, Sandra died two years ago.'

-'I'm sorry to hear that.'

-'Life goes on…besides, she was in pain. Now she's in a better place.'

An awkward silence filled the car for about ten minutes. Miharu had time to elaborate her first impression about John. So far he was being nice and he definitely seemed to be more responsible than Steve, who was always joking around.

-'Here we are.'-John said finally when the car stopped.-'The Eiffel Tower.'

-'It's quite a show…can we go up?'-Miharu asked.

-'Sure.'

On the way up, John explained how the Eiffel Tower was built and when. The tower was a symbol of Paris since 1889. Miharu was impressed because for someone who was taking care of the family business, John seemed to know a lot about History and European Art.

Even though the sun was shining upon their heads, it was really windy up there. Neither John nor Miharu had problems with heights, so they were totally enjoying the view over Paris. It was then that Miharu truly saw the beauty of that European city, until then she had only seen the fancy hotel and in her opinion, hotels were all the same, whether she was in France, Japan or some other country.

-'I wasn't expecting this…'-she said in a loud voice, because the wind was messing up the sound.

-'What were you expecting?'

-'I wasn't expecting Paris to be so…huge…and beautiful.'

-'This is just the beginning. Wait until you see the rest of it.'

-'What are we going to see next?'

-'The Louvre…one of the greatest art museums in the world.'

Miharu realised that she was really anxious to go to the museum. She never cared much about art and museums, but John's tour was now becoming an awesome journey around Paris.

-'We have lots of beautiful things in London too.'-John declared, seeing how enthusiastic she was after their visit to the Eiffel Tower.

-'I promised I'll take some time off to go and see some museums in London.'

-'I never thought you'd like this tour so much.'

-'Neither did I.'

The Louvre was everything Miharu was expecting and even more. She had seen pictures a couple of years ago, when her cousin Haruka returned to Japan after a three months journey around Europe, but to be able to see it live was even better.

The glass pyramid was beautiful, and Miharu spent almost ten minutes looking at it. She regretted not having a camera there.

Next, Miharu and John decided to go and see the most famous painting in the museum, the Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece. There were people from all around the world just to see it for a few seconds.

They had some troubles to get to the painting, because the room was crowed. But Miharu didn't want to leave without seeing it. After a half an hour battling and stepping and shoving people, she managed to succeed.

-'It's smaller than I thought, but I like it…'-she said.

-'I said the same thing when I came here for the first time.'

After leaving the crowd, Miharu saw Venus de Milo, a famous statue from Greece. People believed that the statue was representing the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite.

-'Next stop…Versailles Palace. It's one of the most significant symbols in France.'

The Versailles Palace was beautiful and enormous. Miharu had never seen anything like that before. She was used to the Japanese ancient castles but none of them were like that. It was a completely different style. The Hall of Mirrors impressed her even more, and the gardens were superb.

An hour later, John and Miharu had lunch in a fine restaurant in the centre of Paris and headed to the Notre Dame cathedral.

-'Paris has many churches…all beautiful…'-said John.

-'I presume you like art, right?'

-'Yes…art and history.'

-'I thought history was boring, but I'm changing my mind now.'

-'It reminds me the past…centuries ago, when everything was different and a nation was depending on its King. It's unbelievable the kind of stories we know from the past…wars, alliances, treaties…'

-'I can imagine…'

-'Today things are not as interesting as they were. I mean, we can still make war and destroy countries easily with nuclear weapons, but you don't see a nation in ruins just because of an impossible love story.'

-'I see…'

-'The love of a woman could change the fate of a nation.'

-'I guess we can't always have a happy ending…I know that now.'

-'You don't believe in happy endings?'

-'I used to…but things change.'

-'What happened? Someone hurt you?'

-'Not exactly…'

-'Is that why you left Japan?'

-'Maybe…'

-'Did it help?'

-'Yeah…I think so. I'm letting it go.'

-'In the meantime, maybe you find someone else…your soul mate.'

-'I doubt that, besides I'm not searching anything, I just want a quiet and happy life.'

-'Alone?'

-'Why not? I'm better off alone than being hurt again.'

-'If you say so…'

-'We better go, it's getting late.'


	9. Schemes

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

**_Chapter 9 – Schemes_**

The four o'clock meeting was as shallow as everything else about business men. Miharu didn't know exactly what she was supposed to do and Steve hadn't arrived yet.

Luckily Meg Andrews, John's mother was there and Miharu felt a bit relieved when she saw a familiar face.

-'Mrs. Andrews have you seen Steve?'-Miharu asked feeling worried that he could forget about it.

-'He's outside with John. They'll be here soon.'

Miharu sighed in relief.

-'He didn't tell me what to do…so I was kind of worried to be alone.'-Miharu confessed.

-'Don't be. This is just a formality.'

-'We're not going to discuss business?'

-'I'm afraid not, dear…the business world is still dominated by men and they rather discuss football and drink whisky than talk about numbers and stuff.'

Miharu was truly disappointed. What kind of experience was she going to obtain by hanging around drinking and eating cakes? Those meetings were useless and that trip was a waste of time.

Miharu fell in a comfortable chair and crossed her arms.

-'Were you expecting something else from these guys?'-Meg asked.

-'Yeah…I was.'

-'I started just like you. I was my husband's assistant for ten years before we got married. I was also frustrated when I first came to this meeting. I couldn't believe they don't do a bloody thing during all this time.'

-'I thought this was a business trip and it's just a break…to have fun and see old friends.'

-'You're going to get used to it. I did…eventually.'

-'At least I managed to have some fun this morning…'-Miharu said.

-'You went out with John, didn't you?'

-'Yes…it was a nice tour around Paris.'

Miharu started talking about the places she had seen and for a moment she forgot about her disappointment. When she finished, Meg was smiling.

-'It looks like John found someone with the same passions…'

-'What do you mean?'

-'John never wanted to be like his father. He thought about giving up his studies and travel around the world instead. He loves History and his dream is to visit all the countries in the world.'

-'Why did he change his mind?'

-'Because he wanted Jim to be proud of him and because Steve asked him to stay.'

Typical from Steve, Miharu thought to herself, he would always be a selfish brat.

In the meanwhile, outside Steve was questioning John about Miharu.

-'So what did you find out?'-he asked.

-'Nothing much…'-John confessed.-'And don't ask me to do this again.'

-'What's your problem, John?'

-'I don't like to lie to people.'

-'You didn't lie to her.'

-'But I feel like a spy…'

-'Does she like me? Yes or no?'

-'I think she might be interested but she isn't ready yet.'

-'Ready for what?'

-'For you and your schemes.'

-'What schemes?'

-'You know…she'll be one more of your trophies.'

-'I never criticised you or your girlfriends. What's this all about, are you interested in her too?'

-'That's not the point. She's a good girl and she doesn't deserve to be hurt again.'

-'Why are you so worried?'

-'Because she's my new friend and she came all this way to forget about someone who really hurt her…just leave her alone for a while.'

-'Who? Do you know his name?'

-'No…I don't. But that doesn't matter.'

-'John, you're my best friend…but I would appreciate that you could stay out of my businesses.'

-'Don't break her heart again, otherwise she won't recover that easily and I'll never forgive you.'

-'Well…I guess she found herself a bodyguard.'-Steve mocked.

-'I'm not protecting her, besides there's nothing I can do.'

-'What do you call it then?'

-'I'm only giving you a free advice, ok? And for once in your life, just take it.'

That conversation with John ruined Steve's mood for the rest of the day. And he got a little upset when he heard Miharu talking about John and the places they had visited.

Two days later Miharu was happily packing. Although everyone seemed to spend some quality time in the hotel, she was probably the only one who didn't. She was tired of fake meetings and dressing up for nothing. That's why she was happy when Steve announced that they were going to London sooner than expected.

She did like John and Meg's company but she wanted to go back to work, even if that meant to put up with Steve every day.

Despite Steve's angry mood, he didn't refuse when John volunteered to take them to the airport.

-'I guess this is goodbye.'-Miharu said, shaking John's hand.

-'Don't worry I'll be in London in a couple of weeks. Besides my house is just a few miles from Steve's, I bet we'll meet again.'-John said.

Miharu smiled and entered the airport followed by Steve, who simply muttered a "goodbye" to his best friend.

John shrugged and drove away. He couldn't believe Steve was being so childish.

An hour later, Steve was in a better mood now that they were finally flying home. Two seats away from Steve and Miharu, a blonde woman was watching him closely. She was holding a cell phone on her right hand, but if someone could take a good look at it, he would see that it wasn't a normal cell phone.

In a few minutes the passengers of the flight 789 from the British Airways would be wishing they had never taken that flight.


	10. Flames in the Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 10 – Flames**__** in the Sky**_

-'So did you like Paris?'-Steve asked, trying to make a conversation.

-'It wasn't so bad…but honestly, the stupid meetings were simply…stupid.'-Miharu answered.

-'But you liked the city, right?'

-'Yeah…Paris is beautiful and I think I would like to see other European cities. Maybe I'll do that on my holidays.'

-'Right…'

When they didn't have anything else to talk about, Miharu left her seat and went to the bathroom.

Now that Steve was alone, the blonde woman prepared her move. Inside her fake cell phone was a capsule, she just had to make sure that Steve would drink it along with his glass of water.

She was almost near Steve when a man caught her attention. He was near the bathroom and smiled at her. The blonde woman clenched her fists and joined him, abandoning her plan.

-'What the hell are you doing here Miles?'-she asked furiously.

-'Your job, I guess.'-the man answered.

-'What the hell do you mean?'

-'The Organisation thinks you're going easy with the boy. They gave you this order last month and the boy is still alive and breathing.'

-'Anna showed up…I had to deal with her first. My sister can be a bitch sometimes.'

-'That's not my problem. Anyway…this guy has to die. I was paid in advanced to finish this once and for all. '

-'In advanced?'

-'Yeah…they must be really sick of this kid.'

-'Who paid you? Was it one of the Bosses?'

-'I don't know…we spoke on the phone and yesterday I checked my bank account and there it was my precious money. Besides I don't ask questions. You shouldn't do either.'

-'Well considering I was taking care of this kid, I think I deserve some explanations.'

-'Don't stress, Williams. Leave it to me. He will no longer be a problem in less than three minutes.'

-'Why? What have you done, Miles?'

-'Lets say that there's going to be some fireworks on the plane.'

-'A bomb?'-she whispered.-'Are you crazy?'

-'Chill out Williams…it's so small I don't even know if the other passengers will notice it.'

-'This is a commercial flight, and I'm in it, you moron! What the hell were you thinking of?'

-'I have an extra parachute, do you want it?'

Nina watched as all the passengers were talking and acting normally. No one knew that under Steve's seat, a small device was marking 02:36 minutes.

-'Look don't judge me ok…I'm only doing a job. You should've told me you had a plan too. I wouldn't put a bomb on his seat if I knew you were here.'

In that moment Nina and Miles turned around to see a confused Miharu looking at them. _Did she hear the word "bomb"? Those two really seem suspicious. What if they were terrorists? _Miharu watched them closely without moving. She didn't know if it was only her imagination.

-'Just great…now we'll have to take care of this one too.'-said Miles, going for his gun.

-'I'll do it.'-Nina announced.

Before Miharu could move a muscle, Nina hit her in the back of her neck and Miharu's body fell back. Miles caught her and put her on the floor quietly. Then Nina grabbed the parachute Miles was holding and put it on.

In his seat, Steve was thinking that Miharu was taking an eternity to return from the bathroom. He hated to be left alone, so he decided to check her out. When he was almost there an explosion launched Miharu and Steve's seats out of the plane and everyone started screaming. As the pilots were fighting to control the airplane, Nina and Miles jumped off and Steve crawled down to grab Miharu, preventing her to be thrown out of the plane. The passengers managed to put on their oxygen masks and there was no panic attacks because the pilots announce that the airplane was going to land soon.

Five minutes later the pilots managed to do an emergency landing on Jersey Island and there were only three injured passengers including Miharu. In St. Helier's Hospital, Miharu was discharged one hour after the landing. She was still a bit confused and her head was still spinning around but she was pretty sure about the bomb that the two strangers' had referred.

The police and the airport authorities had started an inquiry about that awkward accident that had left the airplane with a hole the size of a normal door from where two seats had disappeared, thankfully landing on the sea.

According to some witnesses there was an extremely bright light followed by an intense circle of flames in the sky. Actually it was almost a miracle how the pilots had managed to land the airplane, they were extremely lucky to be flying over the Channel Islands.

After the inquiry to determine what had happened, the authorities stopped questioning the passengers as soon as they realised that Steve Fox was involved.

-'Our seats flew out of the plane and you want me to keep quiet about it?'-Miharu asked alarmed.

-'We have some guys working in the intelligence services for us. They'll investigate the accident, don't worry.'-Steve assured.

-'How can you be so calm when you were their target?'-Miharu asked.

-'This is not the first time my life is in danger. I'm famous and I've learned how to deal with it. We'll just wait for my privet jet and it will be fine.'

-'If I hadn't gone to the bathroom I would be dead.'

-'I know…me too, so lets thank your bladder shall we?'

Steve laughed in an attempt to make her laugh too but she just looked at him frustrated. She hadn't travelled to London to see her life threatened just because her new boss was being hunted down by terrorists.

-'I think you owe me an explanation. I mean you don't seem very upset or worried about almost dying.'

-'I would tell you, but believe me…you don't want to get more involved.'

-'I'm already involved. In case you didn't notice I was attacked by a tall blonde woman because of you.'

-'Fine. I'll tell you everything once we get home.'

As soon as they landed in London, Steve had a car waiting for them and they headed to his parents' place. It was an ancient but comfortable house outside London. Steve didn't have time to show Miharu the house because their parents called him immediately. Miharu was taken to a guest room and she stayed there.

In the meanwhile Steve had told everything about the accident to his parents and they were worried for his safety.

-'I thought you had got rid of those people…'-his mother said.

-'Me too, but you know the Mafia.'-Steve explained.

-'I'll hire bodyguards and you should stop working for a while. Stan can take care of the company, ok?'-his father asked.

-'Come on dad…I can take care of myself. I'm a professional and a champion…I fought in the Iron Fist tournament.'

-'These people have bombs, Steve. You can't win against a bomb or a shotgun.'-said Steve's mother.

-'Please, Sarah…I'm sure Steve knows that, we shouldn't scare him even more.'

-'Lets wait for James. He'll know who tried to kill me in no time.'-Steve announced smiling. He wished his parents weren't so paranoid about that accident, but the situation was indeed serious.

On the news, the emergency landing in Jersey was the biggest hit so far and it would make several headlines the next day. The two pilots were the true heroes in that story and fortunately Steve's name wasn't mentioned.

In the end everyone agreed that the best thing to do was to wait for further news from James Kent, who was supposed to arrive in the next morning.

When Steve went to see how Miharu was doing he found her sleeping, so he left her resting in the guest room. If the Mafia was still after him then he wasn't the only one who should have bodyguards because it was obvious that those criminals could also hurt his friends.


	11. House Arrest

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 11 – **__**House Arrest**_

The next day when Miharu woke up, she wasn't completely sure of what she was doing in Steve's house. Last night, during dinner, his parents had asked Miharu to stay a bit longer and they tried to explain about the dangerous situation they were living again. Miharu was curious about this, so when she realized that morning that Steve wasn't home, she decided to have a chat with his mother.

Sarah was very kind and honest; she wouldn't lie or run away from her questions, unlike Steve.

Miharu found her in the garden watching the flowers.

-'Good morning.'-Miharu greeted.

-'Good morning…last night we were a bit rude…I'm sorry for making you a hostage in our house.'

-'It's ok. I know you mean well.'

-'We don't want you to get hurt.'

-'Where's Steve?'

-'He went to pick James up at the airport.'

-'Isn't that dangerous?'-Miharu asked.

-'No, we hired more bodyguards, besides Steve can take care of himself.'

-'Are you sure?'

-'Of course, dear…you work for my son, don't you?'

-'Yes. I'm his new assistant. Why?'

-'I guess you don't know him very well, do you?'

Sarah grabbed Miharu's arm and they both headed towards the house. Then Sarah took her to a room full of trophies and medals. Miharu was surprised.

-'My boy wins stuff like these since he was eleven years old.'-Sarah said with pride. Her hand touched a small statue in gold that was placed on a table. This was his last victory, the European Boxing Championship.

-'He's also a fighter?'-Miharu asked surprised.

-'You're a fighter too?'

-'Oh…no, I'm not…'-Miharu said. She had learned martial arts and she had entered some competitions, but she didn't consider herself a fighter. By the looks of it, her life would always be "hunted" by fighters. First Jin, then Hwoarang and now her boss was also a fighter, what a coincidence.

-'Steve is the best in the country and if it hadn't been for his father's disease he would be back to boxing this very moment. He loves this sport.'

-'I see…that's why you said he can take care of himself.'

-'Exactly. Steve was born a winner…I never quite understood that until he started boxing. That's when I knew this was his passion. That's why I know he's not happy.'

-'Is that the reason why his life is in danger?'

-'Sort of. Two years ago Steve refused to work with the Mafia by losing his match. After that he became a target.'

-'The Mafia?'-Miharu repeated. She couldn't believe that the Mafia was after Steve; actually she couldn't believe that Steve had dared to go against the Mafia.

-'Last year Steve said he was going to take care of this and until yesterday we all thought he had succeeded.'

-'He should've known better, I mean we're talking about an ancient organisation with millions of individuals and associates. They kill people all the time and manage to walk free.'

-'I don't think they can kill my boy, but as his mother, I'm a bit worried.'

Miharu nodded. She understood Sarah's point of view. Until that moment she believed that Steve was always bragging about his physical strength with no reason, but now she new he was a famous fighter. But were his strengths enough to win against the Mafia and the assassins they had hired to kill him?

Miharu was anticipating a long and depressive day. For some reason she just wished to be back on the office, listening to Sam and Lori arguing about Steve. But everything changed after James arrival.

James was a close friend of Steve's family; he was twenty-eight years old and very handsome. His green eyes could easily turn blue or grey depending on what clothes he wore and the weather conditions. His hair was brown and his skin was almost as white as snow. Miharu found him quite charming but due to her lack of interest in the romance "business", she decided to listen carefully what James had found out about the accident.

-'Last year the Mafia clearly stooped their attempts to kill Steve.'-James explained.-'I confirmed that with an undercover agent. But these situations don't mean that all the associates agree with each other.'

-'What does that mean?'-asked Steve.

-'It means that there's someone from the Mafia that is acting on his own and he wants you dead.'

-'Well, good. If he's acting alone I can take him down.'-Steve said calmly.

-'Be careful though. This man may have hired the best assassins for the job. You need protection.'

-'Come on James, you know me better than that.'

-'Just until this situation is over.'

-'Does that mean I can't leave the house?'

-'For now.'

-'Damn it…what will do?'

-'I don't know…watch TV, read a book…whatever you like. Just stay inside these walls and don't invite anyone.'

Miharu wanted to laugh when she saw Steve's face. He wasn't happy with James' solution, but she was. Not only Steve would be safe because he would stay at home, but also she would be able to go back to work and he wouldn't be there to annoy her. Those were good news.

A week later nothing had happened. Steve was dying with boredom because all he could do was stay at home. James was still investigating and he was pretty sure that Steve was still in danger.

As for Miharu she had finally started to work properly. She was now assisting Stan who was running the company while Steve was at home.

-'I just spoke with him.'-Miharu said.-'He wants us to ignore the media statements that he's quitting this job.'

-'That's probably the best thing to do.'-Stan agreed.-'What else did he say?'

-'He doesn't stop complaining. He said he's in house arrest without committing any crime.'

Stan laughed.

-'Do you really think he'll ever be a good business man?'-Miharu asked suddenly.

-'Not really. Steve has no sense of responsibility. He could learn but he simply doesn't want to.'

-Why does he keep on pretending that he wants to be working here?'

-'Because he's stubborn and because he doesn't want to let his father down.'

-'He's just running away from the truth.'

-'We all do that, Miharu. Don't we?'

Miharu crossed her arms and thought about her own words. Stan was right. She had done it too. She was there because she didn't have the courage to face her deceptions. She was running away just like Steve.

-'But you can try to talk to him…'-Stan said.-'By the way, I need you to go to his house because I need him to sign this.'

Stan gave Miharu some documents and then he left smiling.

-'Don't run away this time, Miharu.'-Stan joked.

-'I won't…'


	12. Maternal Instinct

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 12 – Maternal Instinct**_

When Miharu arrived to Steve's house, there was a huge argument going on. It seemed that Steve couldn't take that situation any longer and he wasn't even listening to James advices. Miharu thought that he was being stupid, after all James was a professional and qualified agent from the secret services. Everyone should listen to him and yet, there was Steve, going against everything James was saying.

Twenty minutes later James left the house and Miharu gave Steve the papers that he signed without even looking at them.

-'I'm sick of this…it's been a week. Nothing happened.'-he complained again.

-'James is being cautious, besides your parents are worried too.'

-'They have nothing to worry about. It's obvious that the accident was just an incident, maybe a conflict of opinions within the Mafia. Everything is fine now.'

-'Does James agree with you?'

-'Almost. But he said I should stay here one more week.'

-'Then do it. It won't kill you. I mean you live in a huge and comfortable house, you have a tennis court, a pool and a private gym…you can do lots of things.'

-'It's boring.'

-'More boring than listening to Stan's lectures?'

-'Absolutely. You have no idea how much I miss Stan…Hey I have an idea…'

-'What now?'

-'You know how to fight don't you?'

-'No.'

-'You're lying…'

-'Why do you say that?'

-'I know you learned martial arts…'

-'I'm not a qualified fighter, though…'

-'It doesn't matter; I just need someone to spar with me.'

-'I can't do that.'

-'Why not?'

-'Because it has been ages since I practiced martial arts.'

Now Steve knew she was lying. She had entered the Iron Fist tournament, he had seen her there. He remembered her because he had been especially interested in Ling Xiaoyu, who seemed to be Miharu's close friend. It wasn't a romantic interest though. Steve just found really interesting how a small and fragile girl like Ling was able to beat up almost all of her opponents. She was even qualified for the semi-finals while he had lost against Jin Kazama. Miharu had lost in the first round but he wouldn't say she wasn't qualified to fight, actually he had seen her match and against Craig Marduk there wasn't much more someone could do.

-'Ok…then there's a good chance to start again.'-Steve announced smiling. He didn't want to tell her that he had been in the Iron Fist tournament so he ignored the fact that she was lying.

Miharu was literally dragged to the gym and they ended up sparring. None of them was there to prove anything, Steve just wanted to do something and see how good she was and Miharu was only doing what he asked her to do.

Two hours later they were both thirsty and tired. Miharu sat down on the floor and Steve gave her a towel.

-'You're not that bad.'-he said.

-'I learned with the best.'-Miharu said remembering her best friend Ling Xiaoyu.-'But we both know we were just fooling around, this wasn't a serious training.'

-'Well…I couldn't risk it. I could've killed you…'

-'You really need to learn modesty, you know?'

-'It's true. I know you learned Chinese martial arts, but my boxing skills are much better than your fighting style.'

-'I'm a bit rusty but I can kick your ass whenever I want.'

-'Sure…'-Steve laughed, offering his hand to help her getting up.

Miharu took his hand and they both stared for a few seconds. Steve noticed that she had taken his words quite seriously.

-'Well, I suggest that the next time we do this, you don't wear a skirt otherwise you won't win. A skirt is an obstacle to your movements…'

-'Idiot.'-Miharu said blushing.-'There won't be a next time. I'm your assistant not your boxing partner.'

-'We never know…'

-'I have to go home.'

When Miharu was starting her car outside Steve's house, she felt she was being watched. None of the people who were passing by looked suspicious so she drove home. When she was leaving the car, someone grabbed her from behind, forcing her to get in another car: a black Mercedes with dark glasses.

Then the driver took out his mask and Miharu was quite surprised to see the blonde woman she had seen in the airplane.

-'What's going on?'-Miharu asked watching Nina driving silently.-'Where are you taking me?'

-'Cell phones don't work inside this car.'-Nina said noticing that Miharu was trying to call for help.

-'What?'

-'It's a device…very useful. Anyway I didn't bring you to talk about new technologies.'

Nina pulled over but Miharu couldn't see exactly where they were. For a moment she thought that the blonde woman could actually kill her.

-'The accident with the airplane wasn't supposed to end like that.'-Nina said pointing a gun at Miharu.

-'I know…we should've died.'-Miharu said. She didn't know what had made her say those words, but she immediately regretted it, because Nina's face was scaring.

-'That's not true. I was there to prevent such a thing, but some stupid asshole sent a hit man and I couldn't do anything to help you and Fox.'

Now Miharu was confused. That woman had hit her in the airplane, kidnapped her in London and now was saying that she was helping them.

-'I don't believe you.'

-'You don't have to…'-Nina said piercing her ice blue eyes in Miharu's. The Japanese woman felt a chill up her spine and pressed herself more against the door.

_I shouldn't have said that. This woman is probably crazy and now she has a reason to kill me.__ Damn it. I haven't done all the things I wanted to do in this life. And I really don't want to die away from home. _

Miharu's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Nina's voice and her brain took quite a while to understand what she was saying.

-'Steve Fox thinks the danger is over but he's wrong. Next week he'll go to a concert to celebrate his company's twentieth anniversary. There's also going to be a huge reception in the London Millennium Hotel. Someone will try to kill him that night and I need you to prevent it.'

After a few minutes, Miharu finally spoke.

-'Why are you telling me this?'

-'I don't want Fox to die. The Mafia agreed in letting him go but there's a guy playing dirty…I want to foil his plans, that's all.'

-'How do you know all this, if you're not the killer?'

-'Well…I'm following my instinct.'

Miharu stood silent for a while. That woman didn't make any sense, but she couldn't ignore Nina's words after all Steve's life was in danger.

-'So what can I do to save Steve?'

-'Prevent him from going…warn him that his life is in danger.'

-'Even if I do that, he won't listen to me. He's too stubborn.'

-'Aren't you his girlfriend? He'll listen to you.'

-'I'm his ASSISTANT.'-Miharu almost yelled.

-'Whatever…you have to make him stay at home.'

-'What if I fail?'

-'In that case…Steve's blood will be in your hands, Miss Hirano. I know you're a fighter and a fighter never gives up.'

-'But…'

-'Get out of the car slowly.'-Nina ordered.

-'But you can't put this on my hands! I'm not Steve's bodyguard!'

-'From this day on you're going to be, unless you want to see your boss murdered.'

Miharu left the car and Nina disappeared along with her black Mercedes. Since she wasn't very far from the city centre, Miharu took a taxi and went home. She was more confused than ever, besides she believed that she had seen that blonde woman before. But who was she? Friend or enemy? Could her instinct be trusted?


	13. Millennium Chaos

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 13 –Millennium Chaos**_

When Miharu told Steve and his family what Nina had told her, they all got worried about his safety. Everyone except Steve. Actually he was quite relieved to know that there was only one guy after him. Sarah and Michael tried to convince him to stay at home and let the police take care of that business, but their efforts were in vein.

Steve had decided that he would go to prove that he wasn't scared. Miharu knew he wouldn't change his mind. She tried to make him see that he could end up dead, but he didn't care.

Steve had ordered her not to tell anyone in the office about it because they would probably get scared too.

-'Don't worry Miharu…I'll be just fine.'-he assured her.

Those words weren't enough for her. She had to make sure that her boss would live, so Miharu decided to go with him.

One week later Miharu went to buy a beautiful dress to wear. She knew that the media would be there and they wouldn't leave Steve alone.

"_You look good in brown." _Miharu remembered these words from Ling and bought a brown long dress with golden sleeves. Even in spring the weather in England was cold. When she arrived the concert had already ended and the guests were inside the hotel.

Miharu saw Stan talking to an older man who she didn't recognise. Later she discovered that it was Sam's father.

Sam and Lori had tried to get Steve's attention three times already but, just as Miharu predicted, the media were all around him and he was surrounded by several journalists.

Miharu started to search for someone suspicious but an hour later, Steve was still safe and alive and she was getting hungry.

She approached the food table and joined Lori and Sam.

-'Damn parasites.'-Sam said referring to the media.

-'Well it's been two weeks since he arrived from Paris and he hadn't showed up publicly since then.'-Lori declared.

-'He's here now, isn't he? Why can't they leave him alone?'

-'I prefer these parasites to those crazy fans of Steve from the old times when he was still fighting in those stupid tournaments.'

Sam nodded in agreement.

-'Yeah…I'm glad he quitted that.'

In that moment, when she heard Lori and Sam talking about the tournaments Steve used to enter, Miharu finally remembered where she knew Nina from. Nina had entered the Iron Fist too, but unfortunately that was all she knew about the blonde woman.

_I remember__ seeing her there and I remember she fought against Hwoarang. I also remember Julia saying something about her sister, so I guess Julia knows something about her. I still have Hwoarang's phone number, but I don't know if it's a good idea to call him._

Miharu didn't speak with Hwoarang or Julia for almost a year and she didn't even know if they were still together. On one hand if she called him and he told her he and Julia weren't dating anymore, she would have a reason to go back to Japan, but if they were still together it could make her sink even more into the painful memories of the past years.

On the other hand if she didn't call him, she would feel guilty if something bad happened to Steve.

Miharu finally took her cell phone and dialled Hwoarang's number. She waited two minutes and then a woman's voice answered it.

-'Hi, I'm Miharu Hirano…is Hwoarang there, I really need to speak to him.'-Miharu said.

-'Miharu? Is it really you?'

Miharu recognised Julia's voice and smiled. So they were still together. Even in those circumstances, Miharu couldn't feel angry with them.

-'Julia…Hi…How are you?'

-'Fine…Hwoarang forgot his cell phone in my apartment, but I'll meet him tonight so if you need to talk to him…'

-'No, it's fine, I wanted to speak to you instead, but I don't have your number.'

-'Oh…so what's up? Everything ok with you?'

-'Yes, I'm fine. Listen, this is going to sound really weird but I need your help.'

-'Sure, what do you want me to do?'

-'I need information about someone. That blonde woman from the Iron Fist, do you remember?'

-'Who? Nina Williams?'

-'Yes. What do you know about her?'

-'I know she's Irish and tried to kill Jin in the third Iron Fist Tournament.'

-'Jin? Why?'

-'I don't know the details but I believe she was hired to do kill him. Do you want me to investigate more?'

-'Do you mind?'

-'No, of course not. I'll send the information to you as soon as I can.'

-'Thanks, Julia. Say hi to Hwoarang for me, ok?'

-'Sure.'

When Miharu hung up, a shadow in one of the windows got her attention, but it was too late. Before she could do anything Steve was hit and fell on the floor. Five bodyguards surrounded him immediately.

In the meanwhile, upstairs Nina was making sure that Miles wouldn't try to shoot Steve again. Her interference had made him miss the target and Steve was shot in the arm instead.

-'What are you doing here, Williams?'-Miles asked.

-'Just paying you a visit.'

-'I had a feeling you would show up…I've been digging and I'm sure you weren't on that airplane to kill Fox, were you?'

-'Maybe…'

-'You wouldn't kill your own son, would you?'

-'So you know?'

-'I've never seen you as the maternal type.'

-'There are many things about me you ignore, Miles…and unfortunately for you, things will remain that way.'

Nina fired and Miles passed out in the balcony. It was a tranquiliser and when the man woke up he was in custody with ten armed police officers around him. Nina had framed him and in order to remain alive Miles could never mention her name or that he had been hired by the Mafia. Since he wasn't the suicidal type, he kept his mouth shut and he even thanked Nina for saving Steve's life. If the young boy had died he would be facing many more years behind bars.

Two days after the shooting Steve was back at the office with an arm proudly banged up.

-'He's making it seem as if it's a war wound or something…'-Miharu said.

-'Aren't you happy he isn't dead?'-Sam asked.

-'I was so scared when he fell…I thought he was dead…'-Lori started crying for the eleventh time in two days.

-'He didn't fall…a bodyguard pulled him down protect him.'-Miharu explained.

Lori and Sam looked at her furiously.

-'I'm sorry Miss Ice Queen…but in case you didn't notice you were the only one who didn't feel scared for our bosses' life.'-Lori spat.

-'I was worried, but in those situations it's important not to panic.'-Miharu said calmly.

Sam and Lori turned their back on her and left.

-'They didn't seem too worried either, because when everyone started screaming after the shot, they were the first ones to go to the exit.'-Stan smiled.-'In that chaos more than twenty people got hurt.'

-'People should know better how to act in these situations.'

-'I don't think we should celebrate next year…but now that the danger is over, we can all rest a while.'

-'I wonder who caught the shooter…'-Miharu said in a low voice.-'Everyone started screaming and running away so I couldn't see who it was.'

-'I think we'll never know. And maybe it's better that way.'-Stan declared in a serious voice.

Miharu watched as Steve was showing his arm to all the employees who had been constantly coming in and going out of his office. For some reason he had been acting weird ever since Miharu described the blonde woman as Nina Williams and Miharu was getting suspicious. Now, everything was up to Julia and the information she was collecting.


	14. Theories

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 14 – **__**Theories**_

Two months after that chaotic night in the Millennium hotel, Miharu was still collecting information about Nina Williams. She had received five e-mails from Julia, who was helping her and both girls were now used to keep in touch regularly. After a while, the Nina Williams' topic wasn't the only subject they talked about on the phone.

Miharu realised she had been an idiot by not having more contact with her friends. She didn't know anything from Jin and Ling since she had left Japan, and now she was beginning to understand that she had made a mistake.

Julia had told her that Ling and Jin were in Australia and that Jin didn't want to assume the Mishima Financial Empire. In Miharu's opinion that was a good thing, because since she had received the first e-mail from Julia, she had found out that Heihachi wasn't as great as everyone thought.

That afternoon Miharu had just spoken to Julia when she received a lunch invitation. John had returned a few weeks ago and they had met twice in Steve's house. Steve forced John to hear all about the shooting in the hotel and how he had miraculously survived, although he had only been shot in the arm that was completely fine now.

John seemed like a decent guy so Miharu accepted the invitation, besides Julia had told her something very interesting and she could confirm her theory with John.

First John told her about his recent trip to Moscow. Miharu felt a bit jealous when he started talking about all the things he had seen. But then John changed the subject.

-'Steve doesn't seem affected by that incident…'-John said. Actually he was expecting Miharu to confirm his statement.

-'You know him better than me…Steve likes to feel the danger, doesn't he?'

-'Absolutely. But I wish he was more careful sometimes.'

-'Yeah, I understand. So far he's been pretty lucky.'-Miharu sighed. In her opinion Steve was really lucky to have survived the Mafia. Only a few people in the world were alive after facing that criminal organisation.

-'He likes danger…and yet he's stuck here.'-John declared.

-'What do you mean?'

-'Steve is just like me…I'm sure you noticed that he doesn't have the right qualifications to lead this company.'

-'Stan told me about that…but I don't know what to think. Sometimes Steve seems to appreciate what he's doing.'

-'That's only him playing us for fools…I mean he needs to pretend; otherwise his parents would be really sad.'

-'I see…Steve must really love his parents.'-Miharu was now playing her card too. She wanted to know the truth about Steve, and John didn't let her down.

-'Yes, even though they're not his real parents, he does love them.'

Miharu suspicions' were true. After talking with Julia about Nina and her past, Miharu was almost sure that Steve could be her son. Her medical file said that she had given birth once. Now that Miharu knew Steve wasn't Sarah and Michael's son, she only had to dig a bit more to find out some kind of relation between Steve and Nina, besides their physical similarity.

Having lunch with John certainly helped to clear her questions about Steve but it was also disappointing. Miharu thought that now that John was there, she could maybe explore London with him, but he said he was leaving the country again.

-'Where are you going?'-she asked surprised.

-'My mum helped me taking this decision. Steve isn't the only one working against his will…I hate what I do the same way he does.'

-'But…'

-'I want to see the world with my own eyes and I'll never be able to do it if I continue to work for my family.'

-'Have you told your father?'

-'Yes. He gave me five months to take care of all the businesses and find a replacement and then I'm free to go.'

-'Your mother is going too?'

-'No. She's staying with my father. I already chose my cousin Colin to replace me…he might come to London when I leave. My company is going to make an agreement with Steve's and Colin will represent us. He's a nice guy.'

-'Well I'm glad you're going to do what you really want.'

-'You should try it too.'

-'I can't…I would love to travel around the world, but there are things I need to finish.'

-'Well, if you change your mind call me, ok?'

-'Sure. Thanks.'

-'Oh, and don't let Steve upset you. I'm sure he's going to try something stupid so don't pay attention to him.'

-'I'll be fine…don't worry. I think I'm starting to understand Steve now.'

Two weeks later Steve was still upset because he had known about John and Miharu's lunch together. Miharu had denied that she was dating John, but Steve didn't believe her.

For Miharu this wasn't a problem, actually she was more worried about finding out if Nina was truly Steve's mother.

Julia had done a great job investigating Nina Williams. Miharu was shocked when Julia told her that Nina had been in cryosleep for many years and used as a lab rat in the Mishima Laboratories. The medical reports said that Nina had conceived a child through in-vitro fertilization and the father's identity was unknown. After doing the maths, Miharu realised that it was quite possible for Steve to be that child. The reasons why Nina was taken by Heihachi were still a mystery, but she was most probably a subject for cryosleep studies, although Miharu ignored the reasons why Heihachi was ordering those experiments on humans.

If Steve was Nina's son, that would explain many things about his personality and his talent in martial arts. But how could she prove that theory?

Since Steve hardly spoke with her, unless he really had to, Miharu turned to Stan.

-'How can I do my job if my own boss doesn't speak to me?'- Miharu asked that morning.

Stan shrugged. He didn't want to be involved in Steve's affairs, especially now that Steve was going through a rough time.

-'Well…Steve needs some time alone.'

-'Why?'

-'You know…first he was shot, then you started to date John…they're best friends and Steve needs to get used to the idea that you chose John over him.'

-'I didn't choose anyone.' - Miharu declared.-'I'm not dating John. We're just friends'

-'Maybe you should tell him that.'

-'I tried but he's avoiding me.'

-'Steve isn't the same since he got back from Japan almost two years ago.'

-'Japan?'

-'Yeah. He told me that he went to a tournament…'

-The Iron Fist!'-Miharu said. Now she knew why Steve had told her that he had seen her before. They had entered the Iron Fist Tournament but she had never noticed him.

-'You know about it?'-Stan asked surprised.-'Steve only told me. How do you know?'

-'I was there too.'

-'Really? You're a fighter too?'

-'Sort of…but please don't tell anyone, ok?'

-'Sure.'

-'If he was in the Iron Fist, he probably saw her…'-Miharu started thinking out loud.

-'Her?'-Stan asked.

-'Nina Williams.'-Miharu explained. Since she trusted Stan, Miharu decided to tell him her crazy, yet possible, theories about Steve.

-'He never mentioned that name.'

-'Are you sure?'

-'Yes. Why? Who is she?'

-'I don't know her very well either but I think that somehow she's related to Steve.'

-'How?'

-'Does Steve know that he's adopted?'

-'Of course.'

-'Did he ever ask about his real parents?'

-'I don't know…maybe…but how is that relevant?'

-'I think that when Steve went to the Iron Fist Tournament he accidentally met his real mother. That's why he started acting strange when I told him about Nina Williams.'

-'So you think that Nina Williams is Steve's mother?'

-'Yes. It's just a theory though.'

-'What's your plan now?'

-'I don't know…but maybe it's time to confront Steve about this.'


	15. Facing the Facts

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you. I also want to thank Janny for the review on the previous chapter, I'm glad you like the story.

_**Chapter 15 – Facing the Facts**_

Since Steve was still ignoring her, Miharu asked Stan to get some information about Steve's true feelings towards his biological parents. At first Stan refused to do it. Steve was like a son to him and he didn't want to get involved.

"_I__ don't want to ask him those questions. Steve is a nice boy. I'm feeling like a traitor already." _Stan argued. Miharu didn't feel good about it too, but it was the only way.

She tried everything to persuade Stan, but it didn't work. _"It's none of our business. Leave it Miharu. I know that you mean well but I can't force him to tell me what really happened."_ This was Stan's final argument.

"_Please just ask him about Nina Williams.__" _ And this was Miharu's final request.

A week later, Stan changed his mind because he remembered something important. Almost two years ago Steve had received a package from his friend James. It was a confidential file about two women named Nina and Anna Williams. Back then Stan never asked why Steve was investigating those women, but now he knew why.

It was time to help Miharu.

Steve was surprised when Stan asked him who Nina Williams was. He didn't tell Stan the truth and felt really angry when he realised that Miharu was the person behind Stan's questions.

The next day, Steve joined Miharu for lunch even though she didn't invite him.

-'What's your problem?'-he asked when Miharu was drinking her orange juice.

-'I could ask you the same question.'-she retaliated.-'But I finally got you to speak to me.'

-'Huh? So Stan's questions about Nina Williams…?'

-'I wanted you to feel angry and I used Stan…sorry.'

-'Why?'

-'First, because I can't do my job if my boss doesn't talk to me, second because I didn't do anything wrong and I can't understand why the hell you're acting like this, and third because I want to help you.'

-'I don't need your help.'

-'You're quite an actor, you know?'

-'What do you mean?'

-'You almost fooled me with the "jealous scene"…I mean I almost thought that you were jealous because I was with John but then I realised that someone as proud and famous as yourself would never feel that way. You can have all the girls you want and John is not a match for you, is he?'

-'I'm not following…'-Steve lied.

-'Of course you are. You're not jealous of John, you just want to avoid me because you realised that I'm too close from the truth about you and your mother.'

-'My mother is Sarah Fox.'

-'Sarah Fox raised you since you were a baby but you're Nina's son and you know it.'

-'You've been watching too many soap operas.'

Miharu smiled with that comment, but she was also confused. Why was Steve denying all that?

-'When you went to the Iron Fist Tournament 4 you met her by accident and for some reason that I ignore, you haven't told anyone.'

-'I have nothing to do with that woman.'

-'Then why were you so upset when I told you that she was the one who told me about your life being in danger?'

-'I wasn't upset…I was surprised.'

-'You've been lying ever since. Your objective was to make me forget about that subject by pretending to be jealous of me and John. You wanted to create a diversion, didn't you?'

-'No.'

-'And when you said you wanted to go to the party at the Hotel, in fact, you wanted to meet Nina…you weren't trying to be brave or face the people who wanted to kill you, you just wanted to see her.'

-'That's a lie!'

-'Is it? Are you sure?'

-'What about you? Why are you so worried about my life?'-Steve asked changing the subject.

Now it was his time to question Miharu's actions.

-'I'm trying to help you with this.'- she answered.

-'Maybe you should be more worried about your own problems.'

-'I'm not having problems.'

-'Really? Then why are you here?'

-'I'm having lunch, you idiot. Are you blind?'

-'I mean why did you leave Japan? Your home and your family?'

-'What's that to do with this?'

-'You were so desperate to forget about your own problems that you decided to focus on other people's issues. That's typical from someone who is still scared to face the past.'

-'I'm not scared of facing my past.'

-'Yes you are. Especially the part about the Iron Fist Tournament.'

-'So what if I was there?'

-'You weren't alone, were you?'

-'No…but the fact that you saw me there doesn't mean anything. Besides I didn't go there to win.'

-'But you were there because of someone…'

-'Were you spying on me?'

-'I didn't have to. I noticed you and your friends from the beginning; after all you were the only ones the same age as me…'

-'And?'

-'And since you told John that you're still not ready for a real relationship I know that one of those guys broke your heart.'

Miharu looked at Steve angrily, but she knew that she was the one who had brought up that conversation. She was the one who wanted him to go and speak to her again. Now she had to face the consequences.

-'So, who was it? Was it the Japanese with the spiky hair? Or was it the one with red hair and some attitude problems?'

Miharu didn't answer. That was definitely a subject that she didn't want to talk about it with Steve. She stood up and left in silence. Steve followed her.

-'If you want to keep your job I suggest you leave me alone.'-he said.

-'Is that a threat?'

-'No…I'm just saying…'

-'Fine. In that case I'm taking the next week off.'

Steve was surprised to hear that. Was he that rude? Had she really made up her mind and was going back home? Maybe she wanted to have the week off to prepare her departure? In fact, Steve couldn't be more wrong.

When she got home that night, Miharu called Julia again and asked her to search for Nina's whereabouts. Either Steve liked it or not, she was going to speak with Nina and that was final. She wasn't giving up on that, even if that meant being fired the next week.


	16. Ancestors

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I Hope all your wishes come true in 2008! Merii Kurisumasu

_**Chapter 16 – **__**Ancestors**_

As soon as Julia found out where Nina Williams was, Miharu left to Ireland and found herself in a very awkward situation. She was told that Nina had booked a room in a prestigious hotel in Dublin, but when Miharu arrived, she couldn't find Nina anywhere.

-'But she was here, wasn't she?'-Miharu asked to the receptionist for the third time.

-'I've told you before…Miss Williams did book a room here. It's one of our best rooms. But she never stayed here so far.'

-'Why?'

-'I don't know…You should ask her. All I know is that no one in this Hotel ever saw Miss Williams.'

-'Is the room paid?'

-'Of course. She transferred the money to our account a week ago.'

Miharu was confused and frustrated. She had travelled to Ireland for nothing. Nina was probably trying to hide and now she couldn't do anything to find her.

Then again, she could always call Julia again. Ask for Julia's help had become a habit and although she didn't want to bother her friend again she couldn't remember anything else. Besides she didn't want to go back to London empty handed.

That night Miharu did call Julia, and a few hours later, the American girl had some answers.

-'Since she used to work for the Mafia and criminal Syndicates, she's probably trying to mislead them, in case they start looking for her. Besides, Anna's after her too.'-Julia explained.

-'So…she can be anywhere.'-Miharu's voice sounded disappointed.

-'Well, I'm pretty sure she's in Ireland. It's her homeland and I found out that her family had a house outside Dublin.'

-'Do you think she's staying there?'

-'I doubt it. It's a huge property but the house is empty for ages and it's probably in very bad conditions.'

-'In that case, where should I start searching?'

-'I don't know… I believe her parents are buried in the property, but I believe she's staying in a hotel or guest house…'

-'Ok. I'll try the property anyways. Thanks Julia.'

-'I have to warn you again, Miharu. Don't forget it is Nina Williams we're talking about. She's dangerous and you're all alone, you need to be careful.'

-'I know…don't worry about me.'

The next morning, Miharu took a cab and visited the Williams' property. It was really huge and the old house was similar to Steve's, only this one looked even older. The grey stones it was made of were now becoming green. The garden didn't have any flowers and the grass was growing up fast around the door. Even in such a depressing state, the house was beautiful. At least Miharu thought that way. She tried to imagine two young girls playing in a flowered garden many years ago but for some reason she didn't hear anyone laughing in her imagined picture of Nina and Anna.

Miharu turned her attention to the heavy black door and the six windows: four on the first floor and two downstairs. One of the windows was broken. She was having fun observing that ancient house but suddenly she was brought up to reality when a drop hit her face. The sun was gone and it was raining. Without thinking, Miharu run towards the black door but then she stopped. Should she try to see if the door was unlocked?

Doubting that she would succeed, Miharu grabbed the door handle and it opened.

_I can't believe I'm so lucky. Not only I'll be out of the rain but I'll also have the chance to see the inside of this house. Even if Nina Williams __doesn't show up, this visit will be worth it. _

Unfortunately for Miharu, the inside wasn't what she expected. Without the sunlight, it was rather spooky. The stairs were damaged so she couldn't see the upstairs' rooms. There was an old and dusty couch in the living room and some candles on the floor, near the fireplace. There was also a small table right next to the window. By the marks on the floor she noticed that someone had moved the table recently.

The noise of the wind was starting to sound like thousands of whispers and only then she noticed the three paintings on the walls: a beautiful blonde woman on the right, two young boys on the centre and a handsome man on the left.

-'Marianne Williams, year 1875…Joshua and James Williams, 1921 and Richard Williams, 1938.'-she read.

Those were Nina's ancestors; she had no doubts about it.

After a few minutes, Miharu started to feel some chills up and down her spine. All those blue eyes were starting to scare the hell out of her.

-'Raining or no raining I'm out of here.'-she said walking towards the door.

Passing through the hall she saw more paintings and one of them showed the Williams family. She recognised Nina immediately. Both Anna and Nina looked happy in that picture, but they were only children. Now they were constantly facing each other in deadly battles. Miharu didn't understand what could drive two sisters to want to kill each other.

She turned her back to the painting and got to the door only to notice that someone was standing outside. The door was now opened and Miharu saw a tall figure right in front of her. She didn't know what scared her the most: the fact that someone was there, watching her; or the gun pointed at her head.

-'I'm just passing by.'-Miharu said in fear. The woman standing outside was Nina, but just as Julia had warned, she couldn't be trusted.

-'You're trespassing.'

Miharu started to feel worried when she noticed that Nina didn't take her excuse as being the truth.

-'What are you doing here, Miss Hirano?'-Nina asked coldly.-'And don't give me that bullshit again.'

-'I'm sorry…In fact I came to see you.'-Miharu had chosen to stick with the truth, and it was proved to be a good choice because Nina lowered the gun down.

-'Well, well, I'm impressed.'-Nina laughed.

-'Why?'

-'Because I have nothing to do with you and because you really did find me.'

-'A friend of mine helped me.'

-'Congratulations. You obviously did your homework.'

-'I'm sorry, but I…'

-'Why are you sorry for? If I were you I would have done the same thing…and I would have been extra careful. Do you have a gun?'

-'A gun? Why would I have a gun?'

-'You know who I am, don't you?'

-'Yes…but I didn't come to hurt you or upset you.'

-'I know, but the truth is that I came here for a reason and you are in my way.'

Miharu didn't know what to say. It was hard to have a conversation with Nina Williams, she was always hostile and Miharu feared that the blonde woman could easily lose her mind and shoot her right there.

-'Are you going to say something? I'm getting tired of looking at you.'-Nina spat.

-'Sorry…I'm here for Steve.'

Nina didn't show any emotions when she heard Steve's name, which made Miharu fear for her life again.

After all, Nina wasn't definitely the maternal type. What if she didn't care about him? It was a risk to bring up that topic around one of the most famous assassins in the world.

-'What about him?'-Nina asked.

-'I know the truth and I believe you should talk to him.'

-'Impressive…'

-'What do you mean?'

-'I can't believe I'm having this conversation with a stranger.'

-'I'm not a stranger, I work with Steve and I'm sure he won't be able to move on unless you talk to him.'

-'I have nothing to tell him. I'm not even related to him.'

-'I know about the cryosleep and the experiments…'

Now Nina wasn't not only shocked but also angry. She didn't know how Miharu got that information and she was starting to suspect that she was a spy from some secret agency.

-'I don't know who told you that but it's not true.'

-'Then Steve's not your son?'

Nina didn't answer. For a few minutes both women stood in silence. Miharu wasn't scared anymore and Nina was getting used to the fact that the Japanese woman knew about Steve's real identity.

-'I gave birth to him.'-Nina started.-'But I don't know him. I don't have the right to call myself his mother.'

-'You can change that.'

-'What if I don't want to?'

-'But you care about him. You saved him more than once.'

-'It doesn't matter. He lived without me for all these years.'

-'He's confused. He needs to know why you tried to kill him and why you were submitted to experiments…and who his father is.'

-'I have nothing to tell him. I'm sorry that you've wasted your time.'

-'But…'

-'I'm in the middle of something. I'm expecting someone and when she arrives, I don't think you should be here. It's for your own safety.'

-'You're going to fight with your sister again?'

-'Not exactly…'

-'I think Steve deserves to be on that wall too.'-Miharu finished pointing to the pictures.

-'It will be better for him not to be on the wall, trust me.'

Miharu walked outside and saw a car pulling over on the road. Anna Williams had arrived and both sisters grabbed their guns but didn't shoot. After a few seconds, Anna broke the eye contact and smiled.

-'We have visitors.'-she said happily.-'Is she your lost daughter or something?'

-'Your sense of humour is terrible, as always.'-Nina replied.-'And by the way…you're late.'

-'Sorry, the traffic was horrible.'

-'It's your time to clean dad's grave.'

-'Always bossing around. Just because we have agreed in a truce it doesn't mean you're the boss. I really hate you…'

-'I hate you too.'

-'I better go.'-Miharu announced. Nina was right, since Anna was there the chances of that place become a battle ground was almost one hundred per cent, which meant it was time to leave as soon as possible.

-'I hope they don't kill each other.'-Miharu whispered leaving the property right after the two sisters started screaming at one another.


	17. A Mysterious Absence

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 17 – **__**A mysterious absence **_

Three days later Miharu was back at work. When she arrived that morning she was still trying to figure out what she would say to Steve. She decided to accept the truth: the trip had been a total waste of time and Steve was going to lecture her about minding her own problems.

When she got out of the elevator Sam almost jumped on her.

-'Where is _he_?'- she asked angrily.

-'What?'- Miharu asked surprised.

-'Steve! Where is he?'

-'I don't know. Why are you asking me?'

Sam started wondering for a while and finally she didn't have an answer to that question.

-'I…Humm…I have no idea…'- she said feeling defeated.

-'Ok…'

-'I got it!'- she suddenly declared. –' I asked you because you are his assistant. Duh!'

-'Right…I think it was because I was the first person to get out of the elevator.'

-'Well forget about that…anyway do you know where he is or not?'

-'No, I don't know where Steve is. But if he's not here he's probably sleeping at home.'

-'I always see him around this time in the morning. He always gets here three minutes after nine.'

-'Don't worry he'll be here. He's probably late or maybe there's too much traffic.'

-'I checked the news. There's no accidents, no traffic and it's a sunny day…what's keeping him?'

-'You need to be patient Sam…'

-'I was starting to like you, but if he doesn't show up today I'll accuse you of kidnapping.'

Miharu didn't know what to say. Why would she kidnap her boss? Actually it was hard to understand if Sam was joking or if she was talking seriously. Miharu suddenly wondered what the hell were Steve and Stan thinking when they hired Sam.

At lunch time the only thing that stopped Sam from calling the police station was a call from Steve saying that he wasn't feeling well and he wanted to take a few days off. In a different situation Miharu would have disapproved because it was obvious that he wasn't sick, but since she wasn't in the mood to tell him about her trip to Ireland, she didn't say a word. Besides it was no big deal if Steve was going to take a time off and she sure needed peace and quiet.

A few days later Miharu told Stan what she had seen in the Williams' mansion and what Nina had told her. Stan put a serious face after that. He couldn't stop feeling worried.

-'Having a cold assassin as a mother…I wasn't expecting that.'

-'That's not the only problem.'-Miharu explained.-'But I can't give you all the details.'

Miharu had omitted the fact that Steve had been the product of an in vitro experiment. It was probably too much for poor Stan, who was always looking after Steve and trying to keep the company on the right tracks.

-'If she's not interested in coming here to see Steve, there's no reason for you to keep on trying to put things right.'-Stan suggested.

-'Yeah…I guess.'

-'Lets just forget all about this.'

In the next two weeks Miharu did try to forget but she couldn't stop thinking about how Steve would feel better after a nice talk with Nina. The problem was Nina. Trying to convince Steve to talk to his mother was an easy task compared to try to convince Nina to talk to him.

Only then Miharu realised that Steve was missing for two weeks. He had called a couple of times and asked to talk only to Stan. Since he was away Miharu had thousands of meetings to attend and loads of paper work to do, so she didn't even notice he was absent for such a long time.

The next morning she decided to ask Stan about Steve's whereabouts. Stan didn't say exactly what was going on but she noticed that something wasn't right.

Even not being too keen to talk to Steve, Miharu thought that the best thing to do was to call him herself but she was pretty shocked when the operator told her that Steve's number was disconnected. Now more than suspicious she was starting to feel worried. Was Steve in some kind of troubles with the mafia again? Or was he only trying to avoid her? He could also be sick, maybe it was a critical disease and he was hospitalised. Just to be sure Miharu called every single Hospital in the United Kingdom but fortunately he wasn't in any of them.

Again, Miharu was forced to turn to Stan since he was the only person who had actually spoken to Steve lately.

-'Do you know if he's ok?'-Miharu asked for the third time that morning.

-'He told me he was fine.'

-'Why didn't you ask him where he is?'

-'I did but he didn't say. He said that he needed a break and that he wanted me to take care of the company with your help.'

-'I'm sorry but I don't believe you. I'm sure that you know what's going on. Is it the mafia?'

-'No, I'm sure that he's not in that kind of troubles.'

-'Then what is it? What are you hiding from me?'

-'Just leave it. Your job now is to assist me and don't worry about Steve anymore.'

-'But people are wondering…'

-'No they're not. You're the only one asking things about him. The others think Steve's on holidays…and as far as I'm concerned that's what he's doing.'

-'But…'

-'Please…don't ask more questions.

-'I know that I have an obligation towards this company and you, but I can't work properly without knowing where my boss is and if he's ok.'

-'I told you before that he's fine. He's just tired and needed to go away for a while.'

-'His phone is disconnected.'

-'So?'

-'It's not normal…when people go on holidays they never go without a mobile phone.'

-'I admit that it's strange, but Steve must have his reasons.'

-'Ok…in that case I think I'm going to speak with his parents.'

-'NO!'-Stan almost yelled.

Stan's reaction didn't surprise Miharu because she always knew that he was covering Steve up, it was just a matter of time until she have real confirmation.

-'Spit it out or I'll be on my way to his parents' house in less than five minutes.'-she warned.

Stan had a defeated look on his face and sat down on his chair. There were two reasons why he didn't want Miharu to know where Steve was: the first was because Steve had asked him to keep it a secret from everyone; the second was because if she knew she would probably leave to find Steve and he was going to be alone in the company for a long time. But now that Miharu had threatened to tell Steve's parents, he didn't have a choice.

-'Ok…I'll tell you what I know…'

-'Good.'-she replied feeling like a real winner.

-'But you have to promise not to tell anyone…and I mean ANYONE.'

-'Ok, fine, I promise.'

-'I don't know exactly where Steve is, but I know that he left the country and he's going to resign when he comes back.'

-'He's going to leave this company?'

-'Yes.'

-'Why?'

-'Well…he said that he never wanted to run a company and that he can't take it anymore.'

-'Did he say what he was going to do?'

-'Not really, he said that he was going back to his old life…whatever that means.'

-'His old life…Are you sure about that?'

-'Yes.'

-'Thanks, Stan…I think I have a clue where I can find him.'

-'Are you going to meet him?'

-Absolutely!'

-'Why?'

-'Because…'-Miharu thought carefully and she couldn't find a good answer to that question, so she simply said:-'Because I have to.'


	18. In Japan

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you xTxNxLx and Dilu for your reviews. :D

_**Chapter 18 – **__**In Japan**_

Stan was absolutely shocked that morning. First Miharu had handed her resignation and announced she was going to Japan in two days, second he had received a call from a client and had to attend two urgent meetings in less than two hours, and finally Miharu had suggested Lori's name to be her replacement in the company.

-'Lori?'-Stan asked for the second time.

-'Me?'-Lori repeated.

-'Yes, why not?'-Miharu suggested putting some of her belongings in a box.

-'Lori's definitely smarter than Sam, but…assistant…I mean, she's not ready.'-Stan said reluctantly waiting for some retaliation from the girl. Since she didn't say a world, it meant that Lori shared Stan's opinion.

-'Give her a chance. She never showed her abilities because you always thought she couldn't do anything good.'-Miharu explained.

Miharu wasn't so sure about choosing Lori too, but she was running out of time and Lori was the only person in the company she knew well enough to recommend, besides Sam.

-'But I…'-Lori started with a very confused look on her face.

-'You've been in this company for six years now. I was called because they needed someone to control Steve, someone who could advise him about businesses since he doesn't give a damn about that.'-Miharu looked to Stan who seemed to agree with her words.

-'Well…he never knew much about businesses…'-he said sounding disappointed.-'I tried my best but Steve is useless…'

-'Now that Stan's going to be in Steve's place, he doesn't need an assistant like me anymore.'-Miharu continued.-'Lori, you're the right person for the job…but you have to understand that Steve's not going to come back.'

Lori's eyes filled with tears but she didn't cry. Steve was the one who got that job for her, actually the only reason she had accepted it was because she could be with him every day. But that was an awesome chance to have a nicer career and a higher salary.

-'Ok…I accept.'-she finally said.

Stan thought about it and ended up accepting Miharu's proposal, after all Lori wouldn't be worse than having Steve as president.

As for Sam, as soon as she heard that Steve wasn't coming back she got so depressed that she cried for almost an hour. But that was all. An hour later she was more interested in Josh Ferguson from the Technological Department than in "mourning" because of Steve's resignation. She had dated Steve once and their relationship had only become interesting after Lori's arrival, because they could compete for his attention. Now it was time to move on and Josh was harassed by his female co-workers every single day, so she was back at competition. This time she was sure she would win.

In the end of the day Miharu had her last talk with Stan at the company.

-'So you're going back home?'-he asked.

-'No, I'm going to confront Steve.'

-'Steve? But I thought you're going to Japan…'

-'Steve's in Japan right now.'

-'Why would he go there?'

-'Because the Iron Fist Tournament 5 is starting tomorrow.'

-'Are you sure?'

-'Yes, I called a friend of mine and she said Steve's there.'

-'Well…in that case shouldn't you just leave him alone and talk to him after the tournament?'

-'No.'

-'But you're not entering the tournament are you?'

-'Of course not. But I'll have a great chance to kill two birds with one shot.'

-'I don't understand.'

-'Guess who's there too?'

-'Humm…I don't know…'

-'Nina Williams.'

-'Steve's biological mother? She's in Japan?'

-'Yes, actually she's going to enter the tournament too, so I'll be able to help them both…I hope.'

Stan shrugged. He wasn't too sure if both Steve and Nina really needed help.

-'Well I guess you made up your mind.'-Stan hugged her and then wished her good luck.-'If you ever need something just call.'

-'Thanks. I'll keep in touch.'

Two days later Miharu was back in her country. When she took a taxi to Kyoto, where the tournament was being held, she observed the landscape and realised how much she was missing it. Only when she arrived to the hotel she remembered the motive she was there.

-'Can you tell me if Mr. Fox is here?'-Miharu asked in the hotel's reception.

-'He's staying here for the tournament but he's probably with the other fighters.'

-'Thank you.'

Miharu went to her room and waited there for a while. The tournament had already begun, so Steve could be fighting in that very moment.

Since she didn't know what else to do, Miharu decided to take a walk outside, maybe she would find Ling or Julia.

Instead of Ling and Julia she ran into Jin when she was going out and he recognised her immediately.

-'Hirano? What are you doing here?'- he asked surprised to see her.

-'Hi…I'm looking for someone…'-Miharu said feeling suddenly embarrassed. She didn't see him for a long time and she didn't know what to say. Besides it was never easy to start a conversation with Jin Kazama, well except for Ling Xiaoyu. The young Chinese girl could start a conversation with everyone or even everything it could move.

-'Xiao is going to fight in five minutes and I'm going to watch the fight. Do you want to come?'

-'Well…sure.'

"_What kind of a friend would refuse that?"_ Miharu thought. She had lost Jin to Xiaoyu but she never blamed her friend. On their way to the arena, Miharu thought that she had to get used to the idea that meeting with her old friends would bring back bad memories for her. There was nothing she could do about it and it was really important that she could just put everything behind.

"_I need a fresh start with my friends again, after all none of this is their fault. I have to focus on Steve and Nina since I'm here because of them.__ I should be happy for Xiao and Jin, besides I've moved on, I went to London to forget about this and it worked out fine."_

Miharu was reassuring herself that everything was fine, but she knew deep inside that sometimes reality is cruel.

Ling won her match against a man named Bruce and when she saw Miharu she immediately jumped on her asking questions and demanding answers. Miharu could hardly breathe and wished that Xiao was a bit more like Jin, who was quiet and calm, as always.

-'How was London?'-Ling asked again.

-'I liked it…but I sure missed Japan, especially the food.'

-'I bet…remember when we used to have lunch in Jin's house?'

-'Yeah.'

-'By the way did you come all the way from London just to see us?'

-'Well, I did want to see all of you but I'm here on a mission.'

-'A mission? That's awesome…what is it?'

-'I can't tell you Xiao…it's confidential.'

-'Are you working for an intelligence agency?'-Ling asked lowering her voice.

-'No. I'm working alone but it's complicated.'

-'Can you at least have dinner with us?'

-'Sure.'

-'Great. We'll see you at seven, ok?'

Miharu waved them goodbye and started searching for Steve. Unfortunately she couldn't find him anywhere and one hour later she returned to the hotel only to find Hwoarang and Julia having an argument while waiting for the elevator. Before Miharu could greet them, Hwoarang left saying that he would take the stairs.

Miharu surprised Julia and both girls decided to have a drink.

-'So, is everything ok between you two?'-Miharu asked.

-'It's the usual…every time we talk about Jin Kazama he loses his temper.'

-'He still needs to prove that he's best than Jin, huh?'

-'Yes. Actually he wants to be the best in everything.'

-'Typical of Hwoarang.'

-'Yes. What about you? Did you meet Steve?'

-'Not yet. I couldn't find him.'

-'His room is next to mine. But I don't see him since this morning.'

-'Did he win his first match?'

-'Yes. I think he fought against Lei Wulong. Nina is fighting tomorrow.'

Before going upstairs to their rooms, Julia showed Miharu a computer in the hotel lobby where they could see the next matches and the winners of the previous ones. Nina was going to fight Lee Chaolan.

While preparing herself for dinner, Miharu kept on thinking about a plan. She couldn't just go talk to Nina again without a reason. If she could find Steve, she could plan a meeting between him and Nina and they would have to talk.

In the meantime, Miharu found Jin and Ling waiting for her and tried to smile. She was going to find out if her heart was finally healed.


	19. Still Missing

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 19 **__**– Still Missing**_

It wasn't easy to imagine a dinner with Jin and Xiaoyu. Even accepting that they were now a happy couple, Miharu still had to focus to stop herself from remembering the first time she had met Jin and how they had become close friends. The first crush was always blessed, pure and everlasting. That's why Miharu didn't know if she was ready to hear Xiao talk openly about her love life with Jin.

When she was starting to accept the idea of having a «dinner from hell», she noticed two more chairs in their table and her heart sank.

-'Xiao invited Julia…'-Jin said before she could ask.

Miharu knew that if Julia was coming so would Hwoarang, which meant more sad memories. She sat down next to Xiao and tried to put a happy face.

"_What am I doing here? As if a dinner with Jin and Xiao wasn't bad enough I'll have to bear with Julia and Hwoarang too. I can only hope the guys kill each other…after all Jin seems to be angry and I can't even imagine when Hwoarang arrives. There's going to be blood all over the place." _

Miharu was right about Hwoarang, he didn't seem very happy with the idea of having dinner with Jin Kazama, but they managed to stay quiet for about fifteen minutes. After that, Miharu asked about Heihachi's sudden disappearance and Jin joined the conversation. Hwoarang didn't like being left out and soon they were all arguing. Before Jin and Hwoarang could reach each other's throats, Julia managed to control the situation and the boys shut up.

-'I'm sorry Mi…it's my fault…it was my idea.'-Xiao whispered.

-'It's ok. At least you never get bored.'-Miharu smiled.

Julia and Xiao were interested in hearing all about Miharu's experiences in London and Paris. They didn't know Steve very well and looked surprised when Miharu started talking about his strange behaviour and his zero qualities to be a businessman.

For once, Jin and Hwoarang were sharing the same opinion: that was boring. They couldn't care less for this British guy who looked like a model for a perfume company. They couldn't even understand why girls liked him so much.

-'Why did you stay there if he's such a jerk?'-Hwoarang suddenly asked.

-'I wouldn't say he's a jerk.'-Miharu stated. She noticed that those were Hwoarang's first words to her since they had met and if he wasn't dating with Julia, she could have misinterpreted his words with jealousy.

-'Well…he looks like a jerk to me. I don't know why you even bother…'

-'He's just someone I want to help.'

-'I think he's cute.'-Xiao said trying to break the ice.

-'Me too.'-Julia announced.

These comments didn't help at all. Actually Julia and Xiaoyu received death glares from their boyfriends and only Miharu ended up laughing.

-'I didn't actually think I would laugh tonight.'-she confessed.

-'Why not?'-Xiao asked.

-'Come on…a dinner with two couples and all this hate between Hwoarang and Jin…'

-'They don't hate each other.'-Julia said even though she didn't sound too sure about it.

-'Yes, we do!'-Jin and Hwoarang said.

The three girls looked at them and started laughing.

-'When will you two stop being so childish?'-Miharu asked.

-'Well…as soon as I kick his ass.'-Hwoarang answered.

-'In your dreams.'-Jin retaliated.

-'I almost did it last tournament but you cheated. As long as you use those damned powers of yours you'll win.'

-'I would gladly give them to you if I could.'

-'Now…guys you better stop.'-Xiao advised.-'This conversation isn't going anywhere.'

-'He started.'-Jin stated.

-'Anyway…did any of you see Steve around?'-Miharu tried to change the subject.

-'We sparred this morning but then he said he had something urgent to do.'-Hwoarang said.-'The guy is an idiot or maybe he was afraid that I would kick his ass.'

-'Yeah right…'-Jin mocked.

-'Who asked your opinion?'-Hwoarang asked in a threatening tone.

-'Well…guys I really enjoyed the dinner…except the yelling part of course, but I have to go…'-Miharu announced opening her purse to pay her meal.

-'Oh no…I invited you Mi…Jin's paying, don't worry.'-Xiaoyu said immediately.

-'Thanks.'

-'Ours too?'-Hwoarang asked.

-'Yes, of course.'

-'I'm not paying his.'-Jin said.

-'Yes, you are…this dinner was to celebrate Miharu's arrival.'-Xiaoyu explained.

-'Exactly, besides you're the rich boy, aren't you?'-It was Hwoarang's turn to mock.

Miharu left before they could start another argument. On her way out she saw Anna Williams talking to King and Paul Phoenix.

Steve was going to fight Paul in the next afternoon and if she didn't find him until then she would have to talk with Nina or Anna. He wasn't answering his cell phone and he wasn't in his room. Things weren't going as she had planned.

In the next morning Miharu was desperate. No one had seen Steve and in the reception they kept on telling her that: **"Mr. Fox didn't stay in his room last night and he's not in the hotel."**

Where the hell was Steve after all? He had sparred with Hwoarang and then vanished. Someone had to see him.

Julia and Xiaoyu were trying to help and they also returned to the hotel empty handed. Then Miharu exploded.

-'I'm going to kill that idiot!'-she started.-'I can't believe this! I delivered my resignation, I came to Japan, I even faced my worst memories…and he's not even here!'

Julia and Xiaoyu looked at Miharu amazed by this sudden attitude.

-'Hwoarang is right…he's a jerk.'-Miharu continued.-'I should go back. After all it's obvious that he doesn't need help. He needs a brain check…'

-'Maybe you should talk to Nina.'-Julia suggested.

Miharu calmed down and after a few seconds she agreed with Julia.

-'If she hasn't seen him I'm going home.'-she said going to the elevator.

-'We'll wait here.'-Xiaoyu said. Nina was intimidating and the Chinese girl was never comfortable around her.

While she was heading to Nina's room, Miharu started feeling nervous. What was she going to say to Nina? What if Steve was staying with a girl? What if he was just fooling around? She was going to make a fool of herself and he would mock her forever.

Nina was less than pleased to see Miharu at her door step. Being in a hotel with loads of people gave Miharu the confidence she needed to talk to Nina without fear of being killed by that cold woman but she was still feeling chills up her spine.

-'I didn't want to disturb you, Miss Williams.'-Miharu started.

-'I'm quite sure you didn't, but that's exactly what you're doing.'

-'I'm sorry, but I need to see Steve and I can't find him anywhere.'

-'Do I look like his babysitter?'

-'No, but I asked everyone else in this hotel and…'

-'Is this about me and him again?'

-'No…of course not. This time is personal, I mean I need to solve things out between me and him.'-Miharu lied.

"_I'm lying to the most lethal assassin in the world…this is suicidal. If she finds out I'm lying__ to her I'll end up dead."_

-'Right…well I'm sorry but I haven't seen him either…'

Miharu took a few steps back but then Nina spoke again.

-'But Anna spoke to him yesterday, you should ask her.'

-'Your sister?'

-'Please I want to forget that I share my blood with that bitch…'

-'Sorry…thank you so much, Miss Williams.'

Miharu left with hope and joined her friends in the lobby. She told them they had to search for Anna.

-'That's not a problem. Whenever she's not fighting, Anna Williams is always in the hotel bar.'-Julia announced.

Julia proved to be right, because Anna was in a table with Ganryu and Bruce. She seemed the only one excited about the conversation.

-'Miss Williams, can we talk?'-Miharu asked politely.

-'Hey…fatty look who's here! This is your chance to win your girl back.'

Julia took a step back and tried to hide behind Xiaoyu. If Ganryu wasn't so drunk he would probably notice Julia there and would try to propose to her again. Last time Hwoarang hadn't give him the chance to say the whole sentence ("Will you marry me, my dear Julia"). He was hit right in the face when he got to the "marry" part. Devastated, he had spent all of his money in the bar paying drinks to anyone who could help him. Anna was, so far, the only who had applied for the job and she was giving some advice to him, stupid advices of course, but then again, he was really drunk so it didn't matter.

-'Miharu…I'll leave this to you.'-Julia said in a hurry.-'I have to go before Hwoarang arrives.'

Xiao nodded in agreement and Julia left.

-'What happened?'-Miharu asked surprised.

-'Long story…I'll tell you later.'

Focusing on the Steve subject, Miharu tried to get Anna's attention again.

-'Do you know where Steve is, Miss Williams?'-she insisted.

Anna turned to her and put her glass on the table. Her ice blue eyes met Miharu's. Even not being as lethal as Nina, Anna could also become very intimidating.

-'Yes, I do.'-she finally spoke.

-'Can you tell me?'

-'Yes…'-Anna noticed that Xiaoyu and Miharu almost started jumping in happiness.-'But then I would have to kill you.'

Both girls froze when Anna grabbed her gun and aimed it at them.


	20. Explode

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_**Chapter 20 **__**– Explode**_

Miharu didn't know what was more disturbing: the fact that she had a gun pointed at her head or the fact that Anna started laughing like a lunatic a few seconds later.

-'You should see your faces.'- said Anna still laughing.

Xiaoyu let go of Miharu's arm and gave Anna a cold look. Anna and Nina were probably the only people in the world who Xiaoyu didn't like.

-'I was joking…'-Anna said watching both girls.

-'You're mean.'-Xiaoyu accused.-'I don't like you.'

-'The feeling is mutual, pinkie girl.'-Anna replied amused.

-'You're even worse than Hwoarang.'-Xiaoyu continued.

-'So…you want to talk to Stevie?'-Anna asked changing the subject and sounding very interested.

-'Yes.'-Miharu confessed.-'Can you help us?'-even though she didn't like Anna more than Xiaoyu, she decided to ask politely.

-'Let me see…what do you have to offer?'

-'Offer? What do you mean?'-Miharu asked confused.

-'Tell her what you and Steve were talking about yesterday.'-Nina's voice reached them from behind and Anna got up immediately.

-'Why would I?'-Anna asked.

-'Because if you don't, I'm going to make sure that your sumo friend here gets sober and stops paying you drinks.'

Anna didn't talk for a while. She was definitely thinking of a way to escape Nina's threats, but in the end she knew Nina had won.

As soon as Nina arrived, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. Anna liked to annoy him saying that he was secretly in love with Nina, but the truth was that Bruce had always feared Nina for some unknown reason. As for Ganryu, the poor man was snoring with his head on the table. It was quite a sad picture for someone who just wanted to be loved, but as Julia had said before Hwoarang hit him, he should have chosen someone available to start a relationship with.

-'Fine…the boy wanted to know more about the place where he was born…he started asking questions and I told him about the Mishima Lab outside Kyoto.'

-'Stupid bitch.'-Nina spat.-'Why did you tell him?'

-'He _asked_ and I had no reason not to tell him.'

-'Are you talking about the old LabTech factory?'-Miharu asked.

-'I guess so…it's near an old bridge.'-Anna replied.

-'I know where it is…'-Miharu turned to Xiaoyu who was not entirely "inside" Steve's story.-'And I can get there in twenty minutes. You stay here in case Steve comes back and if he does call me immediately, ok?'

-'Ok. Don't worry I'll be watching every corner of this hotel.'

Miharu left in a hurry. First because she wanted to find Steve soon and second because she had a feeling that Anna and Nina would start shooting each other in a few seconds and she didn't want to be anywhere near them.

All she needed was a taxi, but before she could do anything, Paul Phoenix offered his help.

-'I heard you talking in the bar…is Steve Fox really missing?'-he asked.

-'Yes. I'm going to meet him right now.'

-'Our match is in two hours. If he doesn't show up in time he'll be disqualified.'

-'I'm sorry but I can't wait two hours, I need to bring him back as soon as I can.'

-'I don't want him to be disqualified. I don't like to win when there's no fight.'

Miharu looked at Paul confused. Most of the fighters would rather win without having a fight than facing their opponents. Paul was really weird.

-'I can take you…I have a bike.'-he offered.

-'Ok…let's go.'

On her way to the LabTech factory, Miharu tried to imagine what Steve could possibly be doing in an abandoned place like that. She didn't know why he was so bothered about his birth, but she had decided to help him and she wouldn't quit now.

As soon as they got there Miharu asked Paul to wait outside and entered. The building was quiet and it was a bit spooky but Miharu didn't turn back. She looked everywhere and unfortunately there was no sign of Steve. Actually there was no trace that someone had been there for decades. Miharu had learned, with Julia's help that the Mishima Zaibatsu used to do biological research and Anna and Nina were used as experimental subjects. She considered it very un-ethical but for Steve was a personal issue since he was born from one of those experiments.

When she was starting to think about returning to the hotel, Miharu heard a noise coming from the sublevel. She found Steve sitting on the floor with papers on his hands. The lab was a mess. There were computers and chairs broken, papers and bottles of water on the floor and the lights were out. The only light entering the room was from the door where she was.

Steve looked at her and she could swear he had been crying. She also noticed that he looked tired; he probably hadn't slept last night.

-'What are you doing here Steve?'-she asked from the door.

-'I could ask you the same thing.'

-'I looked everywhere for you, I was worried…I mean everyone is worried about you.'

-'They shouldn't be. I can take care of myself.'

-'Yeah…it sure looks like it.'

Steve noticed the sarcasm in her voice and turned his head to the other side.

-'No offence but I don't need you here Miharu…please go.'

-'No offence but you're in no conditions to make me leave and you're trespassing.'

-'I'm here for a reason…'

-'Well…I'm all ears.'

-'You wouldn't understand.'

-'Try me.'

-'No. I don't want to talk.'

-'Fine. In that case, I'll stay here until you change your mind.'

-'Go away.'

-'No. I'll go if you come with me.'

-'You're going to regret being so stubborn.'

-'And you're an idiot. Why the hell did you have to come to this place after all these years?'

-'You don't understand, do you?'

-'What?'

-'It's all here…the things they did to Nina…to me…how they planned everything…all the steps…it's disgusting.'

-'I'm sorry.'

-'Well…I want revenge!'

That statement surprised Miharu. Why would someone want revenge for something that had happened so many years ago? Actually he was born thanks to those crazy scientists so he shouldn't be seeking revenge; he should just forget all about that and move on with his life.

-'And I thought that Hwoarang's obsession about Jin was extreme…'-Miharu confessed.

-'People should know what they did to Nina. She didn't even have a choice…they used her.'

-'Steve, that's in the past. And to be honest Nina doesn't seem to care much about it, does she?'

-'This is wrong…they shouldn't have done it…I mean what about me?'

-'I can't answer that question. You should be able to put this behind you. You're not the only person who have family issues.'

-'At least they weren't born in a damn lab.'

-'SO WHAT?'-Miharu suddenly exploded.-'So what if you were born here? Is this place that different from a civilian hospital?'

-'Why are you so angry all of the sudden?'

-'Because you're not being rational. There are hundreds of children in the world who would give everything to have what you had. Look at Xiao…she lost her parents when she was just a child, Julia was adopted and Hwoarang doesn't even know who his parents are…as for Jin's family…you would be surprised…I mean they have been trying to kill him for ages.'

-'That's though but this is different…'

-'Are you an idiot? Are you listening to me?'

Steve got up and put his hand on a capsule full of green water.

-'My real mother was inside this when they decided she would have a child…she doesn't remember anything clearly and she even tried to kill me!'

-'You're forgetting who you really are Steve…you're not some kid who was born in a lab…you're Steve Fox, raised by Michael and Sarah Fox, you're John's best friend, Lori and Sam's ex-boyfriend. Being born in a lab doesn't change the person you are. Can't you see that?'

Steve didn't answer. Deep inside he knew Miharu was right. He couldn't explain all that anger and frustration he felt when he discovered that he was the product of an experiment. It felt like he didn't have the right to live, almost as if he wasn't human.

-'You had a good education, friends, parents, not your biological ones but I'm sure that Michael and Sarah love you…isn't that enough? You were loved…why are you throwing that away?'-Miharu approached him and held his hand. Steve looked at her.

-'I don't want to throw that away. But I do need to get rid of my past.'

-'Then forget about this. Go to the tournament, finish your matches and then you can go back home and be who and what you want to be.'

-'So…you're telling me that you really don't want to know about my past?'

-'No…why would I? Who you are right now is all that matters to me and to everyone else around you. Now lets go…your fight starts in an hour.'

-'You go ahead.'

-'What about you?'

-'I have to finish this.'

-'What do you mean?'

-'Just wait for me outside, ok?'

Reluctantly, Miharu let go of his hand and headed for the door. When she was going up the stairs she thought she felt the smell of gas, but she never looked back. Minutes later, she joined Paul and waited. Hardly did she know that five minutes later they would both witness a huge explosion in the LabTech.

They were forced to hide behind a car and miraculously escaped without a scratch. Paul's bike didn't have that luck.

The old factory was now reduced to a pile of ashes.

-'Did you find Fox?'-Paul asked.

Miharu didn't know what to answer. The sirens were getting closer when finally she was able to say.

-'I think he's dead.'


	21. Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

A/Note: I thank all the people who read this so far and the ones who reviewed. Thank you.

_Dedicated to_: teeju, xTxNxLx, Krappkarmin, Dilu, Janny, jc-1225, The One and Only Birdie, xfantasygirlx, xXxAozora no NamidaxXx, heaven-monument, pagoda girl, Dynasty021, Red White Rose, MooNTeARZ, henred5, xianghua 4 kilik 4ever. And everyone who read this. Minna-san wa sugoi desu.

_**Chapter 21 – **__**Decisions **_

-'Holy crap! What the hell was that? Was Fox in there?'-Paul insisted.

Miharu didn't answer again, she was in shock. Five minutes ago she was talking to Steve and now his lifeless body was probably in the bottom of that huge pile of rocks and ashes.

-'Do you think we should be here when the rescue team arrives?'-Paul asked examining his bike.

-'No. They'll ask too many questions.'-Steve showed up behind them. Miharu almost fainted because she thought he was a ghost.

-'I thought you were dead.'-Miharu complained. But after that she hugged Steve who quickly pushed her away.

-'We better go back.'-he warned.

Steve dragged Miharu to his car and Paul followed them in his bike.

-'What the hell were you thinking Steve?'-Miharu asked. Now that she had the confirmation he wasn't a ghost, she was feeling more and more upset. After all, Steve could have blown up the entire east region of Kyoto.

-'I had to make sure that place was buried forever.'-he explained.

-'You could have died…and you could have kill me, Paul and more people.'

-'I knew what I was doing.'

-'Are you sure?'

-'Absolutely.'

-'So what are you going to do now? Run away from what you did?'

-'Yes…You were the one telling me to forget about that place and my past…'

-'I didn't tell you to blow up a building!'

-'It was ABANDONED.'

-'You can't blow up things just because you want to forget! Besides you're in Kyoto…people live here.'

-'I know that. You know what? If you keep on accusing me of terrorism I'm going to stop the car and leave you on the road.'

-'And if you keep on telling me that it's my fault you blew that old factory up I'm going to the police.'

-'You wouldn't…I'm your boss remember? You do what I say.'

-'You're not my boss anymore…jackass. I resigned so I can do what I want.'-Miharu smiled and crossed her arms. Steve stopped the car suddenly and Paul almost crashed on the back of the car.

-'What the hell! Don't stop like that!'-Paul yelled.

-'Sorry…'-Steve apologised and started the car again.

-'When did you resign?'-he asked surprised.

-'Two days ago. Lori is going to replace me.'

-'Are you crazy? You need to go back…'

-'Why? You resigned too.'

-'I resigned because I knew you would stay. Now I'm feeling sorry for Stan and guilty for abandoning him in a time like this.'

-'I'm not going back just for you to feel better with your conscience. You should return to London after the tournament and help Stan; after all he's like a second father to you.'

-'No way. I can't stand businesses anymore. I'm sick of meetings, appointments and all that crap. I want to do something else with my life.'

-'First you need to accept what you've done and explain the police that you didn't mean to destroy LabTech. I'm sure they'll understand.'

-'But I did mean it.'

-'Stop being an idiot, Steve! You're getting on my nerves.'

-'Fine…I accept I went too far. I shouldn't have provoked such a huge explosion. Actually I should have used a timer bomb instead of gas.'

Miharu gave Steve a cold look because she knew he was trying to save his own ass if she decided to tell the police he was involved in that explosion.

-'You're a jerk…Hwoarang was right.'

-'For God's sake…No one died! I didn't even kill a fly…'

-'You don't know that.'

-'So what? Why are you so upset? The stupid factory was abandoned, no one was there. It exploded, everyone is fine, we all survived…end of story.'

-'You need to be more responsible.'

-'Fine…I'll work on that starting tomorrow. Happy now?'

-'No…'

-'Don't lecture me…I'm sick of it and I'm only trying to do what you want.'

-'And what's that exactly?'

-'Move on with my life. Forget that I was an experimental project. Forget that Nina Williams is my mother…and be grateful that I had a normal childhood and an excellent education.'

-'Well…I guess you should do that. But no more stunts like this, ok?'

-'Fine.'

When they finally arrived to the hotel Paul warned Steve that they would have to fight in less than an hour. Paul wasn't happy to know that Steve hadn't slept in the last 24 hours because that meant his opponent would be in a pretty bad shape. Steve, on the other side wasn't too worried about it. He wasn't quitting because he knew Paul wouldn't allow that, but that fight didn't mean anything anymore.

So when they were fighting Paul managed to control all of Steve's attacks and it wasn't too hard to win. Steve wasn't motivated enough and Miharu knew why. He had already achieved his aim which was to learn the truth about his past and put it all behind. Since he didn't need the prize money, Steve wasn't too sad when Paul was declared the winner.

After the match, Steve prepared himself to "crash" on his bed and sleep as much as he wanted. Miharu joined her friends and explained that everything was fine now.

She couldn't escape being inquired by Julia who knew they had something to do with that afternoon explosion in east Kyoto, but Miharu didn't tell her all the details.

The next morning Steve woke up starving but he decided to take a shower before having his breakfast.

He was already dressing up when someone knocked on his door.

-'Don't you think you're overreacting…I mean I don't need you watching over me all the time, you're not my mother.'-he said opening the door.

Nina Williams was standing there with her arms crossed and her blue eyes stuck on him. For the very first time they were face to face.

-'I'm sorry…I thought you were Miharu…'-Steve apologised without knowing what more to stay. He knew Nina was a cold and distant person and he didn't have any clue about what she could possibly want from him so early in the morning.

-'That explosion…it was you, right?'-she asked.

-'Humm…maybe…'

-'It's all over the news…Why did you do it?'

-'Because it bothered me.'

-'Nice work. I should've done it myself many years ago.'

-'Why didn't you?'

-'I don't know. I never had the chance.'

-'Well…now it's over. What they did to us…we can finally forget about it.'

-'Some of my memories are still vague, so I won't be able to forget everything until I get all my memories back. Anyway…I have to go.'

-'Wait!'

-'What?'

-'Why did you try to kill me in the last tournament?'

-'I was ordered to. That's what I do…I follow orders.'

-'Do you like to live like this? Killing people?'

-'I'm good at it.'

-'You didn't kill me though…'

-'I had no reason to kill you after Wulong caught the Syndicate.'

-'Miharu told me you helped saving my life…'

-'Actually…I was ordered to kill you but they didn't pay me enough.'

-'So you ignored their orders?'

-'Yes, I ignored their orders because there are other things you can't ignore.'

-'Such as?'

-'Such as our situation.'

-'It's awkward, isn't it? I mean…we look like each other and yet you look more like my sister or my cousin.'

-'You have a mum and a dad in London…they took good care of you. As far as I'm concerned we're just blood related…that fact that we share the same DNA doesn't mean we have to play happy families.'

-'I know that. So…I guess there won't be Birthday parties or Christmas Eve for us, huh?'

-'I guess not. But…when we meet again I won't pretend that I don't know you and we can actually have a conversation. I mean after all we're both fighters, aren't we?'

-'Yeah…we are. I guess this is the best way to solve this…problem.'

-'Indeed. I see you around Steve…'

-'Yeah, sure.'

An hour later it was an enthusiastic Steve who explained Miharu how his first talk with Nina Williams had given him a new perspective of his life. Miharu didn't understand much about it but it was obvious that for Steve, the fact that Nina had spoken to him face to face had been crucial. He was definitely more relaxed and even happier.

-'If I really want to put everything right I have to talk to someone.'-he announced watching Eddie and Christie entering the bar.

-'Who?'-Miharu asked.

-'I'll be right back.'

Steve approached Christie when she was alone in a table, waiting for Eddie. She was surprised to see him there. They hadn't spoken for a long time. It wasn't easy for Steve either. So far Christie had been the only girl he had fought for. His longest relationship with a woman had been with Christie and he didn't know if he had forgiven her for using him. Even so he had to apologise to her.

-'Hey…so you finally found Eddie.'-he said.

-'Strange way to start a conversation. Why are you here Steve? Last tournament you humiliated me in front of…'

-'I know and I'm sorry for that. I'm not proud of it.'-he cut her off.

Christie was shocked. Steve had always been proud of his ego and now, all of a sudden, he was apologising for what he had said to her in the previous tournament.

It hadn't been nice to watch. He made her look like a heartless bitch and Christie swore she would never speak to him again. But that approach had made her change her mind. Maybe he had changed after all.

-'So…you came to apologise?'-she asked almost as if she wasn't sure yet.

-'Yes. I think it's time to let it all go. I'm glad you found Eddie and I hope he treats you well…as for me, I just want us to be friends again.'

-'I guess I can't ignore you forever. Besides it's not all your fault. I said bad things to you too.'

-'So we're good?'

-'Yeah…sure.'

That worked out better than he thought. After the last tournament's scene, Steve thought the only way Christie would ever want to see his face was in a coffin, but fortunately she was more reasonable than him.

After joining Miharu, Steve had another surprise.

-'It's time for you to make new friends, Steve.'-Miharu announced with a smile.

-'What do you mean?'

-'Come on…my friends are waiting for us.'

Xiaoyu was exactly like Miharu had described: friendly, hyperactive and cute. Jin was just a normal guy; at least that was what Steve was thinking before Miharu tell him about his family "issue". Julia was a mystery because she didn't look like a fighter at all. She was a typical A-student. Steve could understand why the others were entering the tournament, but Julia? Why was she there?

As for Hwoarang he was nothing like Miharu had described. Actually Steve had sparred with him once (he didn't actually want to spar but Hwoarang insisted besides he had called him a coward, so he had to accept) and he had the feeling that he was just a "bad boy" wannabe with an attitude problem.

Before they all meet, Miharu had told him: _"Jin is quiet and strong. He might seem cold, distant and anti-social, but in fact he has a good heart. Xiao is my best friend, she's always happy and she loves to make new friends. Julia is intelligent and responsible. Hwoarang is…well sometimes he's nice and sometimes I want to kill him. He hates Jin and that's why he's always provoking him."_

Although his first impression of his "new" friends wasn't the best, Steve decided to give them a chance. In the end things turned out better than he thought. The girls were fine and he also managed to establish with Jin a mutual friendship since they were both mature enough and had the same opinion about the Mishima's family (more like: death to all the Mishimas!). But Steve was especially surprised to see that Hwoarang was a good guy to hang around with although it had its inconveniences.

First: Hwoarang was always looking for troubles and usually he was successful in finding them so hanging around with him was never boring. Second: they both liked pretty much the same things: sports, martial arts, cars, girls, watching TV, sleeping, eating and last but not least drinking...a lot. Third: it was funny to see Hwoarang provoking Jin, especially when the girls were around because the scene always ended in screaming, yelling and sometimes deadly threats. Those moments made him realise how lucky he was having a peaceful and quite life in London.

-'You sucked yesterday…I mean I would kick Phoenix's ass in less than five minutes.'-Hwoarang said.

-'Well…don't be so sure about your strength, because who haven't won this yet.'- Steve retaliated.

-'But I will…this year I'll win the tournament.'

-'Who are you going to fight against tomorrow?'-Julia asked.

-'Some idiot named Lee.'

-'Jin's uncle?'-Xiao inquired.-'Be careful he is sly…'

-'Don't worry…I'll show him.'

-'Are you going to see Hwoarang's match tomorrow?'-Julia asked Miharu and Steve.

-'Sure.'-he immediately said.-'I wouldn't miss it…'

Since Steve had, more than once, expressed his intention to stay in Kyoto until the final match, Miharu decided that once they were alone she would have to tell him about her own plans, which didn't include to stay there. Therefore, after dinner, when he took her to her rooms, she told him.

-'I'm leaving tomorrow after lunch.'

-'So soon? Why?'

-'I'm going to visit my parents in Tokyo.'

-'Can't you wait until the tournament is over?'

-'I'm not interested in the tournament anymore.'

-'But now things are getting exciting.'

-'I know but I made up my mind, besides there's nothing left for me here.'

Steve crossed his arms and looked directly at her. It was time to know why she was always worrying about the others and never worried about her own happiness.

-'John told me you had trusting problems because someone hurt you really bad…I know that either was Jin or Hwoarang…which one?'

Miharu didn't look at him.

-'I don't want to talk about it.'

-'But you have to. You told me to face my past…now I'm asking you to do the same thing. You really need to move on.'

-'That's what I'm trying to do. You don't imagine how hard it was for me to come here.'

-'Do you still love him?'

-'I don't think so…but it's not that simple.'

-'Yes it is. Actually is that simple.'

-'I'm really happy for my friends but I don't think I'm ready to try yet.'

-'What do you mean?'

-'I mean that last year I was completely devastated and I don't feel that way anymore. My job here is over and now I'm finally going to do something for myself before thinking about love again.'

-'What are you going to do?'

-'I'm going to travel…travel around the world. That's exactly what I need right now.'

Back in his room, Steve was thinking that Miharu was overreacting. Forgetting about an old love was certainly painful but she didn't have to runaway although in her opinion she wasn't running away, she was just going on a self discovery journey to put her mind in order.

In the end Steve knew he wouldn't be able to stop her from going but he had to thank her for everything she had done. His life had definitely changed after he met her. Thanks to her he was able to talk to Nina and he didn't care about being born in a laboratory anymore.

The next day, when Miharu told her friends she was leaving everyone was surprised, except Steve who already knew. Xiaoyu tried to persuade her to stay in vein.

-'It's not that I don't care about you guys…'-Miharu said feeling a bit guilty.-'But I really need to go.'

-'But it's only three days.'-Xiaoyu tried again.

-'But I already called my parents, they're expecting me.'

-'You're cruel Mi…we didn't see each other for a long time and now it feels like you're trying to runaway from us.'

-'I'm not. Honest!'

-'Xiao, it's her decision, not ours.'-Jin calmly said. Miharu smiled thanking him for being on her side.

-'Where are you going after the tournament?'-Miharu asked.

-'We're going to China. Jinrei offered us a place.'-Jin explained.-'He wants to train Xiao for the next tournament.'

-'What about you guys?'-Miharu asked Julia.

-'I'm going home for two months because my finals are coming. After that I'm going to meet Hwoarang in Seoul.'

-'I'll be travelling so I might go and visit you someday.'-Miharu announced.

-'Are you going alone?'-Xiao asked.

-'Yes.'

-'Why don't you wait three days and then ask Steve to go with you?'-Xiao inquired in a whisper.

-'Because I have to do this alone. That's the purpose on going on a self discovery journey.'-Miharu answered.-'Besides Steve has other things to do.'

After lunch, Miharu wished everyone good luck and left to the train station. Steve went too.

-'I'm glad that I chose you as my assistant.'-he started.-'You helped us all. Stan, me…even Lori and Sam.'

-'They didn't like me much, did they?'

-'Come on…Stan loved you.'

-'I'm not talking about Stan.'

-'I know. It's my fault…I shouldn't have offered them a job since they were my ex-girlfriends.'

-'Are you going to London after the tournament?'

-'Yes. But I'm re-starting my boxing career again.'

-'Good…I'm happy for you.'

-'I…need to tell you something Miharu…'

-'What?'

-'Well I want to thank you for what you did. I mean we weren't exactly close friends and sometimes I acted like an idiot. Even so you came to Japan and helped me a lot. So…thanks.'

-'It's good to know that I didn't come for nothing.'

-'I also want to tell you that when you come back I'll be waiting for you at the airport.'

-'What?'

-'When you come back from your journey you better be ready to give me a chance, ok?'

Miharu nodded and got in the train that was about to leave. A few seconds later the platform was almost deserted. All the passengers were on board and Steve was the only one still watching the train.

A voice inside his head kept asking the same question while he was waving Miharu goodbye.

"_Do you really think it will work out between the two of you? She's different from the others you know?"_

But a second voice said lauder _"I want to try…This time it will be different!"_

**The End**

**keep reading, keep writing but most of it...enjoy Tekken, enjoy life! :D**


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